Two arrested in federal meth trafficking bust

Jill Holloway, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Ga.
·2 min read

Apr. 25—THOMASVILLE- Thomas County Sheriff's Office Narcotics/Vice Department, in conjunction with the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office and Georgia State Patrol, made their largest methamphetamine bust to date, taking 4 kilos of meth, valued at nearly $100,000 off the street last week.

According to reports, agents were tipped off that two individuals, later identified as Dylan Mendoza and Geiser Renteria Avilez, would be delivering four kilos of methamphetamine to the Fast Trac on the north side of Moultrie.

Through the combined efforts of the three agencies, five undercover officers were located in the parking lot when a "bust buy" took place.

Officers were alerted to a white Toyota Rav 4 with Gwinnett County tags as it pulled into the gas station.

"When we got the go and were 99 percent sure it was them, Georgia State Patrol swooped in," said one of the agents. "They blocked both ends of the vehicle, so they could not drive away."

At the time, the passenger appeared to be getting out of the vehicle to pump gas, while the driver had gone inside.

Both were taken into custody without incident.

Agents then searched the vehicle for the suspected methamphetamine with the help of the GSP K-9 unit.

"The K-9 did hit on the back hatch on the Rav 4," agents said. "'When we opened up the hatch, there were plastic bags filled with one kilo, which was not concealed."

Agents then noticed a speaker box that had been opened, despite still having the plastic wrapping on the inside.

"We pulled that out and looking into the porthole inside the box, you could see there was some type of paper inside the box," agents said. "So they ripped the speaker off of it and inside the speaker was another 3 kilos of meth inside ziplock bags."

Agents additionally found a loaded .40-caliber handgun, cash, and a small amount of cocaine inside the vehicle.

Following the search, Mendoza and Renteria Avilez were charged with trafficking methamphetamine. The case is now being adopted by the DEA's Task Force Office to run through the federal system.

Agents were proud of the takedown, as it surpassed any of their methamphetamine busts to date and was a safe operation, resulting in no officers or civilian injuries.