Meth, Heroin Valued at $1 Million Seized In Sandy Springs

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A traffic stop conducted on a vehicle earlier this month led to Sandy Springs officers making a $1 million drug bust in the northern part of the city.

An officer with the agency was on routine patrol around 1:15 p.m. Nov. 12 when he noticed a 2012 black Nissan Altima parked in front of a restaurant in the 8700 block of Dunwoody Place.

The officer conducted a check on the tag displayed on the car, and the results show the vehicle's registration was suspended due to a lapse in insurance, according to an incident report released by the Sandy Springs Police Department.

The traffic stop was conducted in the parking lot of QuikTrip at 8200 Dunwoody Place, and the officer subsequently arrested 26-year-old Oswaldo Alberto Villegas, the driver of the car.

The passenger of the vehicle, Israel Arriga-Geron, was also detained. While searching the vehicle for items in plain view to confirm the passenger's identity and date of birth, Arriga-Geron "motioned to the trunk of the vehicle," the police report states.

The passenger was allowed to open the truck, which contained two large gray and white Coleman coolers and two Huggies diaper boxes. According to the report, the officer opened one of the coolers and "saw what appeared to be a large amount of a white crystal rocks/pieces in a plastic container, with more plastic containers under it filled with more white crystal rocks."

Arriga-Geron, 30, was placed under arrest and taken into custody. Due to the large amount of suspected meth found inside the coolers, officers conducted a more thorough search of the vehicle and removed the contents from the trunk.

That search turned up a "large quantity of illegal drugs" in both the coolers and diaper boxes, including meth as well as cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine. Sandy Springs police spokesperson Capt. Mike Lindstrom said the street value of the drugs is believed to be around $1 million.

Officers also seized five cell phones and a little less than $600 in cash from both men at their time of their arrests.

Arriga-Geron was charged with one count each of trafficking cocaine, trafficking methamphetamine and trafficking heroin. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail on Nov. 13 where he remains held without bond.

Villegas, who provided a Lawrenceville address, is facing one count each of trafficking heroin, trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking cocaine, driving without a licenses and knowingly driving a motor vehicle on a suspended, canceled or revoked registration.

He also remains held at the Fulton County Jail.

Images via Sandy Springs Police