Source: Facebook/U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia
Federal agents say a suburban backyard in Brookhaven doubled as a meth conversion lab, complete with a tent over the operation and a hefty stash of liquid methamphetamine. The Feb. 20 search of the Brookhaven-area home ended with three arrests and what authorities describe as a major drug seizure: about 100 pounds of liquid meth mixed into concrete, plus roughly 50 liters of meth solution. The suspects, identified as Sergio Cortes-Nieto, Jose Angel Cortes Raquel and Christian Martinez Larumbe Dominguez, are facing federal possession-with-intent-to-distribute charges.
Federal officials: backyard lab endangered neighbors
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, DEA agents executed a federal search warrant at the Brookhaven residence on Feb. 20. Agents say they found two people allegedly converting methamphetamine under a tent in the backyard, only steps from neighboring homes.
Prosecutors say agents seized about 100 pounds of liquid meth that had been mixed into and concealed in concrete, along with another 50 liters of liquid meth solution. “This lab was operating in a backyard, in close proximity to families and children,” said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg added that his office intends to pursue the case vigorously in federal court.
Where it happened in suburban Atlanta
The operation was uncovered in the 1900 block of Mannville Drive, a property that carries an Atlanta mailing address but actually sits inside Brookhaven city limits, as reported by Atlanta News First. The outlet reports that Jose Angel Cortes Raquel and Christian Martinez Larumbe Dominguez were arrested at the home, while Sergio Cortes-Nieto was taken into custody earlier that same day at a nearby storage facility…