In an example of a “snowball” or “domino” effect regarding illegal narcotics arrests, an investigation that began in Tallassee in early 2013 has led to a second large bust with multiple arrests, and this time, the action took place in Atlanta.
Tallassee Police Department narcotics squad members had participated in a multi-agency raid in Auburn on May 14, when approximately one pound of methamphetamine, with a street value of $46,000, was seized, along with two pounds of marijuana valued at $5600, several vehicles, and several thousand dollars in cash.
The mid-May bust led to further investigation, and another raid was conducted in Atlanta on Aug. 27. Participating agencies from Alabama included the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency Drug Task Force, the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Tallassee Police Department, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, along with agencies in Georgia.
Among the items seized in the Atlanta raid were over seven pounds of methamphetamine. According to Captain Hal Taylor of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Enforcement Division, the value of the drugs was approximately $320,000.
Taylor also said that so far, 13 suspects had been arrested in the ongoing investigation.
“The information generated from this is being examined and further arrests and seizures are expected,” Taylor said in a prepared statement. “No further details will be released at this time.”
“This entire investigation started from the ground up, here, on a street level,” said Tallassee Police Chief Jimmy Rodgers, “and it’s progressed up the chain of the drug business to where they found a central provider just outside of Atlanta. In narcotics, you always strive to go up to the next link in the chain,” said Rodgers, “but it doesn’t always happen that way. To have one that worked out like this investigation did is kind of unique.”
Rodgers noted that the official publicity regarding the ongoing case might seem unusual, as well.
“I think the reason the announcement was made was to make the public aware that this large amount of meth was taken off the streets,” said Rodgers. “Probably eight of those 13 arrests happened in the Tallassee area. The state enforcement agency is the case agent because of the jurisdictional issues, but they are working in conjunction with local authorities. You always want to get to the ‘main provider,’ and it all stems from what happened here several months ago.”