Members of Georgia-Based Meth Trafficking Ring Receive Prison Sentences for Operating Cross-State Drug Lab

Prison sentences have been handed down to a group of people involved in a massive methamphetamine conversion and trafficking operation. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, three members of this drug trafficking organization (DTO), Rosa Elena Rangel Pantoja, Dustin Burgess, and Berzain Leal Batrez, were found guilty of producing and distributing methamphetamine across state lines.

According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, “this operation has been dismantled and these drug traffickers have been prosecuted for their crimes thanks to the vigilance and investigative work of our law enforcement partners,” without taking into account the communities that are frequently left struggling in the wake of such incidents. Law authorities suspected Rangel of being involved in a methamphetamine lab after discovering significant amounts of acetone transactions. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DTO she oversaw was found to have trafficked the drugs from Mexico using semi-trucks loaded with tanks of liquid methamphetamine that they cooked into a crystalline form at covert labs in Georgia.

Those discovered at the center of the methamphetamine distribution received punishments, demonstrating the determination of law enforcement. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release, Rangel was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, Burgess was sentenced to 13 years in prison plus five, and Batrez was given a sentence of nearly eight years in jail.

The investigation, which started in March 2022, found that Rangel and her four children lived above one of these labs, and that there was one destruction left behind by these businesses, indicating a dangerous closeness to families. “The activities of these drug traffickers constituted a serious threat to our communities,” said DEA Atlanta Division Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Atlanta, reiterated these comments when he discussed the defendants’ dissemination of “poison” into communities and the consequences they now face.

Early in the upcoming year, two additional members of Rangel’s group are awaiting sentencing. The DEA, FBI, and HSI were among the law enforcement organizations involved in the cooperative operation, which demonstrated the extensive efforts to combat drug trafficking. This case, which is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation, highlights how national coordination and local vigilance may be used to combat the problem of drug distribution.

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