A 16-month investigation has led to six methamphetamine trafficking arrests across metro Atlanta, with two more suspects sought by the FBI.
The FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender Task Force launched the investigation in November 2017 after the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office began looking into a large multistate meth trafficking scheme, the agency said in a news release.
Authorities identified Teofilo “Carlos” Santana-Medrano, 28, of Lawrenceville, as a drug trafficker, using the network to sell kilos of meth across metro Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains, North Carolina and Florida, the release said.
On Thursday, authorities executed nine search warrants in Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Pickens counties, arresting six people, including Santana-Medrano, the release said. They all face charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The five others facing those charges are:
• Lesli Alvarado Arroyo, 27, of Lawrenceville;
• Mitchell Lingerfelt, 44, of Ball Ground;
• Michael Davis, 56, of Canton;
• Maria Maldonado, 37, of Atlanta;
• Salome Urieta-Jamies, 38, of Marietta.
Arrest warrants have been obtained for Javier Eras, 22, of Atlanta, and Tim Barnes, 52, of Jasper, on the same charges, the release said.
It’s unclear where those in custody are being held.
The search warrants and investigation were conducted by the FBI task force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the GBI’s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Zell Miller Mountain Parkway Drug Task Force and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the release said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Eras and Barnes are asked to contact the FBI at 770-216-3000 or send a tip online at www.tips.fbi.gov.
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