DEA announces Operation Crystal Shield to crack down on meth distribution
Click here for updates on this story
ATLANTA, Ga. (WGCL) — The Drug Enforcement Administration announced a new initiative to crack down on the distribution of methamphetamine in the United States.
DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon was in Atlanta for the announcement Thursday.
He said the focus is on eight cities, including Atlanta, where Mexican drug cartels distribute meth to the rest of the United States.
“Through this effort we will attack the entire supply chain, locating and seizing methamphetamine shipments at their major distribution hubs before they are broken down and trafficked into our communities and neighborhoods,” said Dhillon.
Agents showed millions of dollars worth of meth recently seized from a Clayton County home. The nearly 1,300 pounds of finished meth an an additional 100 gallons cooking in the home was one of the largest meth busts ever for the DEA Atlanta office. One person was arrested.
“I’ve been in this business a long time, this is a huge seizure domestically in the interior United States that we do not see at one time at one location,” said Rob Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta office. “This is a staggering amount of methamphetamine and it indicates the problem that we have.”
Agents also showed meth seized from a Cobb County apartment that was in the form of candles that made their way across the border. The meth was discovered after there was a fire at the apartment.
Murphy said the drugs they displayed Thursday represent 2.3 million individual doses.
“Almost one million Americans are addicted to methamphetamine and in some parts of the country, meth kills more Americans than any class of drug,” said Dhillon.
Agents said the highly addictive, synthetic meth produced by drug trafficking organizations in Mexico is getting cheaper to make, cheaper to buy, and the cartels are cashing in. They’re smuggling it into the United States and converting it in locations throughout the U.S., including homes in metro Atlanta neighborhoods.
DEA domestic seizures of meth increased 127 percent between FY 2017 and FY 2019, from more than 49,000 pounds to more than 112,000 pounds. DEA arrests related to meth increased by nearly 20 percent during that same time period.
Murphy said the DEA Lab in California has detected fentanyl mixed with meth for the first time and agents are hoping that is a trend that doesn’t spread.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
