A massive drug bust in Georgia and South Carolina Wednesday involved hundreds of agents, dozens of warrants and millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs.
According to the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers served 20 search warrants and 27 arrest warrants for members and suppliers of a drug trafficking organization run by a man by the name of Horace Mayfield. Authorities say Mayfield’s operatives funneled nearly $10 million worth of drugs through the region.
UPDATE: Massive Drug Bust Nets 24 Arrests, Drugs and Weapons
In an emailed press release, Mitchell Posey Special Agent in Charge of ARDEO says, “Over the course of ten months, the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO), with the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office and the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office, brought down a multifaceted drug trafficking network with tentacles reaching south into Atlanta and north into South Carolina.”
Video shows agents raiding a suspected drug house at 1971 Wolfpit Road in Eastanolle, GA. Officials say Mayfield used this residence to store narcotics. (Video/GBI)
Posey says multiple criminal charges will be brought against the suspects under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute.
“Mayfield and his drug trafficking organization have been operating in Stephens County and surrounding communities for many years. Over the course of this investigation, the Mayfield Drug Trafficking Organization can be attributed to 72 kilograms of cocaine, 15 kilograms of methamphetamine and 50 pounds of marijuana with a total street value of 9.5 million dollars,” Posey says.
Posey points to this multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency investigation as 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 drug trafficking organization,” he says.
Those agencies involved include ARDEO consisting 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, North Georgia Major Offenders Task Force (NGMOTF), a FBI led Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) consisting of the Cherokee County SO, GBI, Hall County SO, and Forsyth County SO, Conasagua Safe Streets Task Force (CSSTF), a FBI led SSTF consisting of the Calhoun PD, Chatsworth PD, Dalton PD, and Murray County SO, Northwest Georgia Criminal Enterprise Task Force (NWGCETF), a FBI led SSTF, Gwinnett County Police Narcotics Unit, Northeast Georgia Regional DTF, the Oconee County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office Narcotic Unit, and the Anderson South Carolina Sheriff’s Office.
Although numerous arrests have been made and evidence seized, the investigation continues and additional arrests are expected.
