http://www.ajc.com/news/clayton/45-charged-in-mexican-719322.html
Federal and local authorities say they have arrested 45 people and seized drugs, cash and guns as part of an investigation into a major Mexican drug cartel operating in metro Atlanta. Enlarge photo With 1,755 pounds of marijuana in bales stacked in front of them, Clayton County District Attorney, Tracy Graham Lawson (center-right at podium) along with Griffin Judicial Circuit D.A., Scott Ballard, D.E.A. Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Frank Mazzilli, D.E.A. Associate Special Agent in Charge, John Comer, Director of H.I.D.T.A., John Killorin and Jonesboro police chief, Franklin Allen announced the arrests of 45 defendants of the Mexican drug trafficking organization known as La Familia. John Spink, jspink@ajc.com With 1,755 pounds of marijuana in bales stacked in front of them, Clayton County District Attorney, Tracy Graham Lawson (center-right at podium) along with Griffin Judicial Circuit D.A., Scott Ballard, D.E.A. Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Frank Mazzilli, D.E.A. Associate Special Agent in Charge, John Comer, Director of H.I.D.T.A., John Killorin and Jonesboro police chief, Franklin Allen announced the arrests of 45 defendants of the Mexican drug trafficking organization known as La Familia. Enlarge photo Officers wheeled out 1,755 pounds of marijuana in bales. John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Officers wheeled out 1,755 pounds of marijuana in bales. Related
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At a news conference Thursday, officials said Operation Choke Hold targeted the distribution network of La Familia Michoacana.
The operation involved the district attorney's offices in the Clayton and Griffin judicial circuits, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.
Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said that authorities seized 46 pounds of methamphetamine, 43 kilos of cocaine and 4,120 pounds of marijuana, with a total street value of more than $10 million. Agents also seized more than $2.3 million in cash and 20 firearms, "including many AK-47 assault rifles," Lawson said.
“The drug trafficking organization was operating in Spalding, Henry, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties and distributed in Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Washington,” Lawson said.
She said Operation Choke Hold began in May 2009, and originally focused on Gwinnett County.
“The focus then moved to Spalding County,” Lawson said. “In December, 2009, it came to Clayton County.”
Lawson said those arrested had been indicted for conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, meth and marijuana, trafficking in those drugs, money laundering and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
“Mexican cartels such as La Familia Michoacana have collectively become the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, and have an impact on the United States and the greater Atlanta area,” said John Comer, associate special agent in charge of the Atlanta DEA office.
“This is just one of many cells, La Familia and non-La Familia related, that operate in the greater Atlanta area,” Comer said. “This particular cell has been dismantled.”
“I’ve been involved in the criminal justice system for nearly three decades," Lawson said. "Normally, we see prosecution of people in possession of drugs, perhaps first level dealers, maybe second tier dealers, but I’ve never in my career been involved in the takedown of an entire drug trafficking organization.”
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Wow, another 45 people dead in mexico, all these arrests, and something like 100,000 pounds of marijuana seized this week alone. I can just hear all the women who voted no on 19 saying "I'm such a moron, but at least I look like I'm doing the right thing"
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