Members of ‘violent’ Mexican drug cartel arrested with more than 1,000 pounds of meth: DOJ
By Reeves Jackson
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DEKALB COUNTY, Georgia (WXIA) — A massive federal drug bust in metro Atlanta last week ended with five suspects behind bars and more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine off the streets.
Federal agents said law enforcement seized meth from an apartment and a nearby home in DeKalb County that was linked to the violent Mexican cartel known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG.
“Within just a few days, undercover investigations in the metro Atlanta area led to the seizure of more than half a ton of methamphetamine, the arrests of four illegal aliens allegedly responsible for distributing those deadly drugs, and the disruption of two drug trafficking rings,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said.
According to prosecutors, the investigation began Sept. 15 when Wilber Castellanos Villazana allegedly sold a kilogram of meth to an undercover DEA agent at an apartment complex. Investigators said they later saw Castellanos Villazana making more deals from a car in the same area.
The next day, DEA agents watched Castellanos Villazana, along with Yamilet Calixto Sotelo and Jorge Lorenzo Manzanarez, loading large black trash bags into a vehicle. A search of the car and apartment uncovered about 730 pounds of meth.
Just two days later, agents said Esteban Jacobo-Suarez and Damien Gomez-Guijarro sold another kilogram to undercover agents at a Stone Mountain gas station. A follow-up search of a nearby home turned up an additional 290 pounds of meth, a gun and $12,000 in cash.
In case you were wondering, more than 1,000 pounds of meth is about equivalent to $1.5 million.
“The CJNG cartel is a significant threat to public safety, public health, and the national security of the United States,” said Robert J. Murphy, the special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “DEA will target every level of their supply chain to disrupt and destroy their networks.”
All five suspects, who the DOJ said are Mexican nationals, were charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Four of them, including Jacobo-Suarez, who had been deported twice before, are in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.
A 34-year-old woman, who was supposed to have a bond hearing about two weeks ago that got canceled, was arrested in Gwinnett County back in July for trafficking the second-largest fentanyl haul ever caught by law enforcement in the state of Georgia, according to prosecutors.
The woman, Celia Lara Rios, also allegedly has ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. It’s unclear when her new bond hearing date will be.
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