Cherokee County

Man accused of selling 'grey death' in Atlanta suburbs

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A man is under arrest after being accused of dealing “grey death” heroin at a suburban shopping center.

Cherokee County drug agents tracked Schamell Powell to a Cherokee County shopping center where they said he was hooking up with a buyer for the potentially lethal drug.

Authorities said they think Powell transported the drugs from Atlanta.

It's called "grey death," named for its greyish, concrete chunk-like appearance and it's linked to deaths in Georgia and other states across the country.

“There's so many variations you don't the quality, quantity, the intensity of the high you get,” said Phil Price, commander of the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad.

Authorities said they arrested Powell at a shopping center on Highway 92 in Woodstock, where they believe he planned to meet up with a buyer. Then came the bust.

“Confronted him and found a small amount of ‘grey death’ on his person, and another amount on the inside of the car was driving,” Price said. “We believe he may have had more and we believe this was a relatively routine occurrence."

Here's what makes “grey death” so dangerous: It is cut with the pain killer fentanyl that’s made in illicit labs or it's even stronger cousin carfentanyl.

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“The carfentanyl is the elephant tranquilizer. So, it's particularly deadly. If you happen to have a dose that has that in there, you could overdose very easily and die,” Price said.

News of the drug bust in the retail center came as a shock to shoppers.

“It's very scary stuff. And our young kids are getting involved with this and it's an epidemic,” said shopper Victoria Roberts.

Drug investigators said most heroin dealers get their product in Atlanta and transport it to the suburbs to sell at a nice profit.