DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Two metro Atlanta men are facing federal drug and trafficking charges after authorities say they seized five kilograms of fentanyl during a coordinated investigation earlier this month.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Osiel Adame-Gomez, 27, of Loganville, and Miguel Velazquez-Garcia, 26, of Atlanta, appeared in federal court on charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is a highly lethal weapon of mass destruction that the narco-terrorist cartels have wormed into our country,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
The investigation began earlier this month when agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned of a planned fentanyl sale at a Doraville warehouse involving a rented moving truck.
On Feb. 5, DEA agents observed Adame-Gomez with the truck at the warehouse before following him to a second location. Authorities say he got out of the vehicle carrying a black backpack and entered a storage facility. When he came out without the backpack, authorities tried to stop him, but he drove away.
Officers later arrested Adame-Gomez in Dunwoody.
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A search of the storage facility led to the recovery of a black backpack containing one kilogram of fentanyl, valued at roughly $30,000, according to investigators.
Four days later, on Feb. 9, DeKalb County police conducted a traffic stop on Velazquez-Garcia in Stone Mountain. A K9 alerted to the presence of drugs and a search of the vehicle allegedly revealed one kilogram of fentanyl.
Subsequent searches of the homes linked to Velazquez-Garcia in Stone Mountain and Stonecrest resulted in the seizure of an additional three kilograms of fentanyl, along with a large amount of suspected drug proceeds, according to authorities.
“This seizure underscores the power of coordinated enforcement efforts,” said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “Together with our federal, state, and local partners, we are aggressively targeting the sources offentanyldistribution and the financial infrastructure that sustains it."
Both men appeared before a judge earlier this month. The judge ordered that both men remain in federal custody without bond pending trial.
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