FBI director Kash Patel commended his agents and those of the U.S. narcotics Enforcement Administration (DEA) for busting a large-scale narcotics enterprise in Atlanta, which led to the confiscation of more than 252 kilogrammes of drugs worth more than $9 million and 33 weapons off the streets.
Bartholomew Keeton Harralson, 47, was arrested last Thursday after the FBI, DEA, and state and municipal investigators carried out three search warrants.
Harralson was charged with three drug trafficking and weapon possession offences connected to the drug trafficking organisation in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury.
Harralson is accused with possessing a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offence, possessing a firearm by a convicted felon, and possessing a firearm with purpose to distribute controlled narcotics, according to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. He may spend at least 40 years in prison and possibly even his entire life behind bars if found guilty.
“I’m proud of the outstanding work by our agents and grateful for the strong partnership of the DEA in this joint effort,” Patel stated. “This was a major takedown – dozens of weapons, large quantities of fentanyl and meth, and key members of a sophisticated drug network taken off the streets. Together, we’ve dealt a serious blow to those profiting off addiction and reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to protecting American communities.”
According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown, the DEA and FBI carried out search warrants at three different locations: one in Douglas County, one in South Fulton, and one in Atlanta.
When police carried out a federal search warrant at Harralson’s home in the Atlanta area on June 5, they found more than 56 kilogrammes of fentanyl, 84 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, almost 10 kilogrammes of heroin, and roughly four kilogrammes of cocaine—all in powdered form and hundreds of thousands of pressed pills.
Along with the nine firearms—one of which was modified to function as a machine gun—law officials reportedly discovered $145,000 in cash and a book called “How to Avoid Federal Drug Conspiracy & Firearms Charges.” Harralson was taken into custody at the scene, according to the Department of Justice.
When police carried out a second search warrant at Harralson’s home in Douglasville, they allegedly discovered three hydraulic presses that were used to create kilogram-sized bricks of drugs and two sizable pill presses that could crush up to 25,000 pills per hour.
More than 37 kilogrammes of fentanyl, almost 13 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, more than eight kilogrammes of heroin, and more than six kilogrammes of cocaine were also found during the search.
The DOJ claimed that the narcotics came in hundreds of thousands of crushed tablets and powder.
In addition, police allegedly discovered 19 firearms, four drum-style magazines, a sizable quantity of ammunition, 564 punch dies to mark the pills, and approximately 1,375 pounds of binding agent used to press pills in a machine shop behind Harralson’s Douglasville home.
Two ballistic-style jackets were purportedly discovered in one of the homes, Brown informed reporters.
“Right now, we have an American dying every seven minutes from drug overdoses, and homicides occur twice each hour,” Brown stated. “Our new FBI director, Kash Patel, has given our workforce a simple mandate, crush violent crime, and this is a big step toward that end in metro Atlanta. This major operation is shut down, and it’s just one example of the work the FBI and DEA agents continue to do each and every day.”
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Reporters were informed by DEA Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung that the operation produced Georgia’s largest fentanyl seizure to date.
About 48 million Americans may be killed by the 97 kilogrammes of fentanyl that were found, according to Chung.
“The DEA and our partners are working hard day in and day out to protect their communities from the dangers and violence associated with drug trafficking,” he stated. “DEA’s priorities are to save American lives and to keep our communities safe. We will continue to leverage every partnership, every resource available to ensure the drug dealers who distribute poison, like fentanyl and other illicit drugs through our communities are brought to justice.”
The take-down was carried out by the FBI and DEA as part of Operation Take Back America, a national programme that unifies the Department of Homeland Security’s resources and efforts to completely eradicate cartels and transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) and shield our communities from the “perpetrators of violent crimes.”
This programme goes beyond simply cracking down on illegal immigration.
Chung informed reporters that the significant amounts of cocaine found in the bust demonstrated that Mexican cartels were supplying them.
