$2.8 million in drugs, cash seized in Alpharetta

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A traffic stop in north Fulton County led to the seizure of $2.8 million worth of cocaine, methamphetamine and cash, police said Wednesday.

Georgia state troopers stopped a brown Honda Accord on Jan. 26 within the Alpharetta city limits and arrested the driver, Ignacio Abarca Pineda, 27, who had only a Mexican driver's license and no proof of ownership for the car, George Gordon, Alpharetta police spokesman, said Wednesday.

Inside the car, investigators found 87 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of methamphetamine and four large bags of U.S. currency in excess of $130,000 dollars, Gordon said. The total value of the seized narcotics and currency is estimated at $2.8 million dollars, police said.

The illegal drugs were found inside a large duffel bag in the car, and large trash bags containing drugs and cash were in the trunk, Gordon said.

"This traffic stop resulted in the removal of a significant amount of drugs and reminds us our state is a major hub for the illegal narcotics trade," Gary D. George, director of the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety, said in a news release.

Pineda has been charged with trafficking in cocaine and methamphetamine, police said. He also was cited with driving unlicensed and for brake light and turn signal violations, and faces an immigration hold because he is believed to be in the U.S. illegally, police said.