Over $725K in illegal narcotics seized from suspects in Georgia and North Carolina
A coordinated drug sting Wednesday took three suspects and over three-quarters of a million dollars worth of illegal drugs off the streets in Georgia and North Carolina.
The sting, dubbed Operation Unicoi Pipeline, involved multiple agencies from both states. It followed a 16 month investigation. That investigation, according to officials, revealed suspects Bobby Roger Burch and Charles Michael Ledford trafficked more than 150 kilograms of methamphetamine in the region over the past two years. Burch, 47, is from Hayesville, NC. Ledford, 48, lives in Conyers, GA.
Law enforcement executed multiple search warrants at various locations Wednesday, according to Special Agent in Charge of the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO), Mitchell Posey. He says, during those searches, officers seized more than 15 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, stolen firearms, and currency derived from meth sales.
The street value of the seized illegal narcotics is more than $725,000.00. A cache of stolen guns was also seized from Burch’s home.
“Authorities found over 3 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a battery of Bobby Roger “Rob” Burch’s truck in Gainesville, Georgia. Burch had just left Charles Michael Ledford’s residence in Conyers and was traveling to Hayesville, North Carolina,” an ARDEO press release states. “Authorities executed search warrants at Ledford’s residence and found another 12 pounds of methamphetamine. Authorities also executed a search warrant at Michael Byers’ residence in Young Harris, Georgia and found 1 ounce of methamphetamine.”
Ledford and Burch were both arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine. Additional charges are pending against him in Clay County, NC.
Ledford was transported to the Rockdale County Detention Center, Burch was taken to the Hall County jail.
The 46-year-old Byers was also arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine. He was transported to the Towns County Detention Center.
“This is an active investigation and additional arrests are expected,” says Posey.
Anyone with information about this organization should contact ARDEO or any of these participating agencies: Towns County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office, Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit, Macon County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit and Special Response Team “SRT”, Highlands Police Department, Cherokee Indian Police Department, Swain County, NC Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, DEA, Hall County Sheriff’s Office Multi Agency Narcotics Squad, and the GBI’s West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office.
