Seven people are behind bars charged in connection with a drug trafficking ring agents say had operations in Habersham, Stephens and Baldwin Counties.
Special Agent in Charge of the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Mitchell Posey, says the arrests were made Friday, following a four month investigation involving multiple local, state and federal agencies. “This multi jurisdiction investigation has disrupted a methamphetamine trafficking organization responsible for distributing approximately 60 kilograms of methamphetamine in Georgia and South Carolina over the past two years,” Posey says. He puts the street value of the drugs distributed over that time at $6.2 million.
Posey says ARDEO agents executed a search warrant at 60 Head Drive Toccoa Friday and seized approximately 13 ounces of methamphetamine (valued at $40,000), money, and firearms. Agents arrested 28-year old Christian Lee Hilland and 29-year old Samantha Nicole Nagy, both of Toccoa, GA. They’re charged with trafficking methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
A second search warrant was executed at 225 Red Fox Hollow Drive, Cornelia at the home of Jerry Lawrence Greenberg. Posey says agents also seized methamphetamine and firearms there. They arrested 31-year old Bonifacio Ramirez of Gainesville on meth trafficking charges and an outstanding warrant out of Hall County for sale of methamphetamine.
Posey says a third search warrant was executed Friday in the central Georgia town of Milledgeville. That search resulted in the seizure of approximately 11 grams of methamphetamine, money, marijuana, and prescription narcotics. Four people were arrested and charged there.
“These arrests were the result of an extensive investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,” says Posey, adding the investigation is an example of the value of interagency cooperation. “Because of the strong, existing relationships between the participating agencies, Agents were able to share intelligence and coordinate the dismantling of a complex methamphetamine trafficking network.”
Agencies involved in the investigation include the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, ARDEO, ATF Greenville SC and the ATF Asheville NC offices from the Charlotte Field Division, Cornelia Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department narcotics division, the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI Milledgeville Office, the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9, Toccoa Police Department, Oconee County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office, the Seneca, South Carolina P.D., and Pickens County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation continues and additional arrests are expected.
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, and Rabun County, along with the Cleveland Police Department, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
