Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer in Atlanta Analyzes Major Crystal Meth Raid in Atlanta

Atlanta federal criminal defense attorney

Earlier this May, a story that slid beneath the radar went quietly through the night, passing as a third page headline before the populous forgot entirely about the catastrophe that had been averted, as well as the lesson we could’ve taken into consideration when we analyze what happened. Georgia-based Federal Criminal Defense Attorney James Manciagli of Manciagli Law surveys the aftermath.

Federal Law Enforcement Agents seized about 351 pounds of meth from two houses in Duluth, an area of suburban Atlanta, in an operation that began Sunday and extended into Monday morning. They arrested four Mexican nationals, three of whom are in the U.S. illegally. All four are believed to be in connection with what federal agents are now deeming the largest stash of Mexican crystal methamphetamine packaged for redistribution ever recovered in the eastern region of the United States.

“This is very typical of what we see regarding Mexican drug trafficking organizations and how they operate,” Rodney Benson, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta field office, said of this monumental drug bust. “They want to blend in to communities in nondescript locations to conduct their business.”

A two-month investigation preempted the bust. In addition to the crystal meth, also known by the street name “ice,” agents found one kilogram of cocaine, an undetermined amount of cash, all all the required accessories for procuring and maintaining a methamphetamine manufacturing operation..

The wholesale value of the meth seized totaled roughly $6 million, Benson was also quoted as having said. What was found was packaged for distribution along what authorities believe would have been the East Coast. The yield could have exceeded ten million in street price dollars, Benson added.

The Atlanta area, and especially suburban Gwinnett County, has become a major drug distribution hub for Mexican drug trafficking organizations over the last couple of years. Drugs are brought across the southwest border and along the interstates to Atlanta, where they are processed into the final product and repackaged. The traffickers tend to compartmentalize their operations so a bust doesn’t bring down their whole operation.

One of the houses where the meth was seized is a few doors down from a house where a drug-related shooting Monday left one person dead and three injured. Benson said there is no evidence that incident is related to the drugs seized or people arrested in this week’s bust.

“Though it’s arguable that I may have been able to represent even one of these defendants, what has happened here underscores the importance of federal criminal law, and why it affects us even at home, though we have no white collar criminal interests,” says James Manciagli, Federal Criminal Defense Attorney based in Atlanta, GA.

“When successful legal pursuits like this are succeeded before they even reach the courtroom, it’s important to think of the impact that these guys getting away could have had on our children, our communities and our lives,” adds Manciagli. “Criminal defense lawyers like myself, who are genuinely concerned about the lives and well being of their clients, look to things like this with a sigh of relief.”