Two men have been arrested after 700 pounds of methamphetamine was allegedly found inside a truck transporting cucumbers at a Gainesville warehouse earlier this week.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced the arrests of Andres Jasso, Jr., age 37 of Brookhaven, and Rufino Pineda-Perez, age 59 of Mexico Wednesday afternoon. The investigation reportedly started when DEA agents got a tip about the truck on Monday, June 30.
"DEA Atlanta agents learned that a tractor-trailer parked at a warehouse in Gainesville, Georgia potentially contained a large amount of drugs," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "During a search of the tractor-trailer, agents located 20 pallets of boxes containing cucumbers. Inside the boxes, agents uncovered thousands of individually wrapped packages containing methamphetamine."
Agents also reportedly saw a sedan parked next to that truck. Jasso, Jr. was in the drivers seat of that sedan with Pineda-Perez in the front passenger seat.
"Jasso, Jr. and Pineda-Perez were allegedly tasked with offloading the shipment from the tractor-trailer and separating the drugs from the cucumbers," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "After DEA agents arrested Jasso, Jr. and Pineda-Perez, the agents learned that the total quantity of methamphetamine seized exceeded 700 pounds."
The Attorney's Office added that Pineda-Perez is reportedly a Mexican national with no legal status in the United States. Officials say he was deported in 2001 after a felony conviction for transporting marijuana in Arizona. He then allegedly entered the U.S. illegally again in 2014 and was arrested for transporting nearly a kilogram of cocaine in the Atlanta area. He served six and a half years in prison for that charge before being deported again.
Assistant United State Attorney Johnny Baer is prosecuting the case. Both Jasso, Jr. and Pineda-Perez face charges including possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, with Pineda-Perez facing an additional charge of illegal reentry by a removed alien.
