OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
1:56 PM – Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Authorities including the FBI Atlanta, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and Hall County Sheriff’s Office conducted coordinated raids in the Atlanta area, seizing a total of 719 kilograms (nearly 1,600 pounds) of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $22.5 million.
The seizures, taking place on November 21st, involved mass amounts of the drug being concealed inside shipments of blackberries, inside two separate refrigerated trucks: one parked outside a residence on Custer Avenue SE in Atlanta (containing 419 kilograms) and another outside a business on McEver Road in Hall County (containing 300 kilograms).
Both shipments are believed to have originated in Mexico, and three men — Juan Hernandez, Nelsonen Sorto, and Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado — have been arrested on state trafficking charges. Two of those men now face federal charges as well.
Solorio-Alvarado, an illegal alien, is expected to face removal proceedings post-conviction. However, no such action has been announced yet.
FBI Atlanta and Atlanta Homeland Security Task Force highlighted the major discovery, citing the fight to dismantle cartel-linked drug trafficking networks that operate within Georgia. With the assistance of local, state, and federal partners, officials have seized an immense amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl and arrested individuals who belong to international drug organizations.
“Just in North Georgia, and just within the last few months, we have seen massive methamphetamine seizures of drugs smuggled in with cucumbers, or with celery, or with jalapeño peppers, and now, as you will hear, blackberries,” explained U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore Hertzberg, at a press conference discussing the seizure.
In a separate case, FBI Atlanta also reported intercepting a truck that had more than 3,200 kilograms (around 7,054 pounds) of methamphetamine inside boxes of jalapeños from Mexico.
Anyone with information on these cases is asked to contact FBI Atlanta at tips.fbi.gov, The Georgia Bureau of Investigation West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office at (770) 830-1375, or the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
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