Undercover officers help make drug, gun bust after car crashes following pursuit along I-285

ATLANTA — A large stash of drugs and guns are now off metro area streets thanks to an undercover investigation and wild pursuit.

Investigators told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden that some of the drugs were already packaged and ready to be sold.

Atlanta police say they’ve made multiple arrests and for some of the suspects, Seiden has learned this is nothing new.

Joey Hopkins said he was working at the Greenbriar Mall when all of a sudden, his boss told him to look outside.

“I definitely saw the cop car was stopped and I saw them hit,” Hopkins said.

But it’s what led up to the chase and crash that is now at the center of a criminal investigation.

It was last Thursday when undercover officers spotted a documented gang member in the parking lot of a Southwest Atlanta apartment complex.

Investigators say it didn’t take them very long before they determined that their suspect and three other people may be involved in a major drug deal.

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Police said they followed the group to the West Ridge Shopping Center off of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive where authorities watched as some of the suspects got out of their cars and headed into a clothing store.

Minutes later, they got back onto the road, but when police tried to stop them. They kept on going.

A chase ensued down Interstate 285, but it came to an end near Greenbriar Mall.

Authorities searched the suspects’ cars and found two backpacks containing two guns, one of which was stolen, and a bunch of drugs, including crack cocaine and marijuana.

Seiden contacted the DEA for comment on this story and a spokesperson estimated that the suspects had about $48,000 in product.

Now, Bernard Banks, Daquonta Hunter and Ronecia Hunter are facing multiple charges.

Before this incident, investigators say Daquonta Hunter was wanted for a probation violation for aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Bernard Banks was also wanted for a number of charges, including aggravated assault against a police officer.

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