Search warrant yields more than $1 million in meth from Georgia home

Five men are being held in the Barrow County Detention Center without bond for their role in a local methamphetamine laboratory, according to the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office said Catarino Lopez, Sergio Lopez, Arturo Lopez-Torres, Jhonnathan Ulivi Vergara, and Julio Moreno-Nieto were arrested on Wednesday, June 14.

According to a press release, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit received information from a credible source that liquid methamphetamine had been transported from Mexico to 1625 Sedgefield Trail in Bethlehem for the purpose of converting it to crystal meth. Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Investigators contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration Clandestine Laboratory Team who specialize in the safe dismantling of drug labs.

At the execution of a search warrant, Capt. Ryan Sears said 19 one-gallon containers filled with liquid methamphetamine were located in a bedroom closet. This yielded approximately 45 pounds of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of $1 million. At the residence, investigators also located three firearms, marijuana, cocaine, and more than $250,000 in cash.