Georgia Meth Lab Bust Nets $1 Million In Drugs

WINDER, GA — Five men are in jail after what authorities are calling a $1 million methamphetamine bust in northeast Georgia recently.

The Barrow County Sheriff's Office says a raid on June 14 netted 19 one-gallon containers of liquid methamphetamine being stored in a bedroom closet. That amounted to 45 pounds of crystal meth, with a street value of around $1 million, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators also found three firearms, marijuana, cocaine and more than $250,000 in cash, the sheriff's office said in a post on Facebook.

According to the sheriff's office, the house in Bethlehem was being used as a meth lab to convert liquid methamphetamine into crystal meth. They received a tip that meth was being transported to the home from Mexico.

Catarino Lopez, Sergio Lopez, Arturo Lopez-Torres, Jhonnathan Ulivi Vergara, and Julio Moreno-Nieto were arrested during the June 14 raid. They are being held without bond at the Barrow County Detention Center.

The raid was conducted by the sheriff's office and the DEA's Clandestine Laboratory Team, which specializes in the safe dismantling of drug labs.

Photos courtesy Barrow County Sheriff's Office