Feds: Meth seizure largest in eastern U.S.
Production appears to be spreading from Midwest, officials say
From Terry Frieden
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal drug agents in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, have made what authorities call the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the eastern United States.
Agents seized about 175 pounds of crystal meth in a raid in Gwinnett County, northeast of Atlanta, with a street value estimated in the millions of dollars, law enforcement officials said.
Drug Enforcement Administration officials in Atlanta plan to announce details of the operation later Wednesday.
Officials in Washington describe the enforcement action in Georgia as highly significant. They say the seizure is further evidence of the eastward spread of illegal meth production and distribution, which has ravaged areas of the Midwest and western United States in recent years.
Although the raid produced an unprecedented amount of contraband in the southeast, DEA officials in Washington say it ranks 15th in size in meth busts nationally. The largest to date have been in California and Texas.
Several members of Congress this month have urged Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller to give further attention to the spread of methamphetamine distribution, which they describe as a growing problem in rural and suburban communities.
