11 detained after drug raid at auto repair shop

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly a dozen people are facing drug charges after a raid at a car repair shop.

Thursday's raid followed an undercover investigation of McDuffie's Auto Repair.

Channel 2’s Tom Regan learned that an undercover officer bought methamphetamine from two of the suspects at the repair shop

Regan spoke with a nearby business owner who said she long suspected something strange was going on at the business.

“You think it's just a normal business, but the after-hours (activities) make you question certain things," said Francis McTyre, a neighbor who owns a locksmith business right across the street from McDuffie's Auto Repair.

Armed with search warrants, deputies burst through the front door of McDuffie's and began to round up illegal evidence and suspects.

McTyre said she suspected the people at the repair shop were doing more than fixing cars and trucks.

“There is a lot of traffic over there,” McTyre said. “A lot of things going on that make you suspicious.”

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office began taking hard look at the repair shop after getting complaints from other nearby about suspicious activity.

A spokesman said some of those arrested were also living inside the cluttered repair shop.

“Upon entering, we rounded up 11 suspects. We detained them, searched the building and we found drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine, user amounts and took all of them into custody,” Maj. Glenn Daniel, with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, said.

But a couple of the suspects weren't so easy to find.

“One tried to hide in a vehicle. One tried to hide in the ceiling, in the ventilation ductwork,” Daniels said.

Two of the 11 arrested were charged with drug dealing and possession, the others with possession. One of those arrested is a juvenile.

Cox Media Group