Ten people were arrested late last week during a major South Georgia drug operation.

Several local and state agencies participated in the operation, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation began Feb. 7 after a traffic stop found cocaine and meth in a vehicle. After questioning the vehicle’s occupants, Shannon Marie Mason and Eddie Xavier Houston, police obtained search warrants for five Albany and Leesburg homes.

One of the searches found a covered shed where people allegedly used their illegal drugs. Agents found bags of hypodermic needles, latex gloves and Naloxone.

Police also discovered digital scales, razor blades and packaging materials commonly found in a drug distribution location.

More than $45,000 was seized, along with four vehicles and a handgun.

Besides Houston and Mason, eight other people were arrested and are facing drug-related charges:

  • James Perk Malone, 50
  • Patricia Lou Odum, 49
  • William Ray Cook, 44
  • Jessica Bridges, 24
  • William Porter, 57
  • Anthony Dewayne Pearson, 41
  • Laura Ann Dungee, 48
  • Sherod Marquell Winchester, 38

The GBI Southwestern Regional Drug Enforcement Office is in Albany and serves 42 southwest Georgia counties.