Five men are facing charges after Barrow County deputies found 19 one-gallon buckets of liquid methamphetamine in a bedroom closet earlier this month.
Catarino Lopez, Sergio Lopez, Arturo Lopez-Torres, Jhonnathan Ulivi Vergara and Julio Moreno-Nieto were arrested June 14 in connection with an alleged meth lab being run out of a home at 1625 Sedgefield Trail in Bethlehem, Barrow County sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Ryan Sears said in a news release.
Investigators pursued a tip that the liquid meth had been brought into the county from Mexico for the purpose of converting it to crystal meth, Sears said.
A special team had to be brought in to safely dismantle the lab, Sears said.
The value of the 45 pounds of crystal meth that would have resulted is $1 million, Sears said.
Deputies also recovered three firearms, marijuana, cocaine and $250,000 in cash.
In other news:
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.