FULTON/HALL COUNTIES, Ga. () – In a significant crackdown, authorities in Georgia confiscated more than 700 kilograms of methamphetamine across two distinct incidents.

In Hall County, narcotics officers from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Special Investigations Unit (SIU), in collaboration with FBI – Atlanta, intercepted 300 kilograms (661 lbs.) of crystal meth last week. This haul has an estimated street worth of $22.5 million.

A Facebook update revealed that on Friday, November 21st, shortly before 3 a.m., HCSO investigators and federal agents discovered a refrigerated box truck parked near a business on the 1400 block of McEver Road.

The vehicle was suspected of carrying illicit drugs from Mexico destined for metro Atlanta, intended for distribution across North Georgia. An HCSO K9 Unit was dispatched, and the canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in the truck. Armed with a search warrant, investigators uncovered packages of meth concealed within a shipment of blackberries.

Although the truck’s driver was absent during the seizure, he was later apprehended at his home on Browns Bridge Road. Identified as Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado, 44, a Mexican national residing in Gainesville, he is currently detained without bond, facing a felony charge of methamphetamine trafficking.

While the driver of the truck was not with the vehicle at the time of the drug seizure, he was arrested later in the day at his residence off Browns Bridge Road. The driver has been identified as Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado, 44, a native of Mexico living in Gainesville. He is being held without bond on a felony charge of methamphetamine trafficking.

In Fulton County, the GBI arrested and charged 40-year-old Juan Hernandez and 36-year-old Nelsonen Sorto, both of Atlanta, with Trafficking Methamphetamine following a joint drug investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office. Several other agencies assisted that include the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department, and the FBI.

On November 20th, law enforcement received intelligence regarding a potential large quantity of illicit narcotics located in a house in the 800 block of Custer Ave SE in Atlanta, according to a news release from the GBI.

Utilizing surveillance and intelligence, Special Agents were able to secure a search warrant for the house.

Approximately 419 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3 firearms were seized.

The narcotics were found in a refrigerated truck outside the home

Nelsonen Sorto and Juan Hernandez were both booked into the Fulton County Jail.