ARDEO Shuts Down Multi-Million Dollar Meth Lab

News September 17, 2017 , by Bill Johnson

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Agents with the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) and the FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender Squad shut down a massive methamphetamine conversion lab in Suches Friday, capable of producing more than $3.2 million worth of crystal meth and arrested five suspected drug traffickers.

ARDEO special agent in charge Mitchell Posey said in a press release that a traffic stop of Angel Luis Rivera-Santiago and Victor Rafael Aponte yielded the seizure of 15 kilograms of methamphetamine. During the subsequent investigation, Lumpkin County authorities and FBI agents executed a search warrant at 990 Flanders Road in Dahlonega. Valentine Duarte-Vejar ran from the residence but was captured and was in possession of a handgun.

This search warrant yielded a few grams of cocaine and $166,000 in cash. Agents continued to follow investigative leads until a conversion lab was located at 843 Cooper Creek Road in Suches. A conversion lab is used to convert liquid methamphetamine to its crystal form. Agents located a handgun and 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine at the lab.

ARDEO agents processed approximately 300 pounds of environmental waste largely containing methamphetamine oil. Agents on scene estimated the lab was capable of producing a minimum of 25-50 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine at a time. The Union County Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and Fire Department assisted with safely processing the lab.

This short but effective investigation was a federal, state, and local partnership that disrupted and dismantled a drug distribution network’s attempt to flood our communities with this destructive drug for their own financial gain. The street value of the 30 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine is $3,234,000.

“This was a surprise find for us,” Posey said. “It was something that fell in our lap and we realized that it could turn into something bigger, all it required was just some good old-fashioned hard work.”

Angel Luis Rivera- Santiago, 42, of Norcross, Victor Rafael Aponte, 30, of Dahlonega and Valentine Duarte-Vejar, 25, of Dahlonega were charged with trafficking methamphetamine.

Eleoncio Perez-Pineda, 29, of Dahlonega, and Jose Mario Duarte-Vejar, 25, of Dahlonega were later arrested in Dahlonega and charged with conspiracy to manufactory methamphetamine. The five men were transported to the Lumpkin County Detention Center. Their immigration status is pending. Additional charges are pending in Union County.

“Shuttind down something of this magnitude is huge for North Georgia,” Posey said.

This investigation continues. ARDEO encourages citizens to report any suspicious drug activity via Instant Message or by calling 706-348-7410 or your local sheriff’s office or police department.

The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, Rabun County and Franklin County, along with the Cleveland Police Department, Lavonia Police Department, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The operation was a joint effort of the ARDEO, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender Squad.

NOTE: The names on the mugshots do not always match the names in this article because some suspects gave a fictitious name.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com