Four Northeast Georgia suspects were indicted Tuesday in connection to the sale of kilograms of methamphetamine.
Almarud Duarte, 25, of Oakwood, David Garcia, 40, of Duluth, Kevin Tello, 26, of Lawrenceville, and Eduardo Penaloza-Pacheco, 36, of Gainesville, all face charges in the case.
When law enforcement searched their residences, they seized approximately 200 kilograms of methamphetamine, the bulk of it coming from Garcia’s residence in Duluth.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine, the indictment, and other information presented in court: From May 2021 to August 2021, Almarud Duarte allegedly sold methamphetamine by the kilogram, shortly after obtaining the methamphetamine from Kevin Tello or David Garcia. On June 28, 2021, Eduardo Penaloza-Pacheco allegedly sold a kilogram of methamphetamine, shortly after obtaining the methamphetamine from Kevin Tello.
“Removing these four defendants from our streets for their alleged drug trafficking activity, immediately makes our communities safer,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners work tirelessly to rid communities of dangerous drugs that threaten our citizens' lives.”
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, the Gwinnett Metro Task Force, the DEA, the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, and the Georgia State Patrol.
