A Mexican man, Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado, 44, who has a history of nearly 20 years in federal prison, was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to traffic tens of millions of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine through Atlanta. Authorities seized around 1,600 pounds of meth hidden within a shipment of blackberries.
Solorio-Alvarado faces charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute meth. He has a prior conviction for felony possession with intent to distribute meth and for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, which led to a 17-year prison sentence.
Another suspect, Nelson Enrique Salt, 36, from Atlanta, was charged with the same intent to distribute meth. Salt has a previous felony conviction for meth possession and is currently on probation.
Federal agents and Hall County deputies, conducting surveillance on a cold storage facility in Fulton County, spotted three refrigerated trucks. They tracked one to a gas station in Gainesville, where they observed Solorio-Alvarado picking up the driver and then abandoning the truck.
When a K-9 unit alerted officers to the scent of drugs, they searched the truck and discovered approximately 661 pounds of meth concealed among pallets of blackberries. Solorio-Alvarado was arrested after a brief attempt to escape from his home nearby, where police also found keys to the abandoned truck.
Meanwhile, another team of investigators monitored a second truck linked to Salt, who left in an SUV with two passengers. Georgia State Patrol troopers stopped him and found firearms and additional containers of blackberries inside the vehicle.
In a follow-up search of a box truck parked outside a residence in Atlanta, agents, aided by the FBI, uncovered around 924 pounds of methamphetamine also hidden in a blackberry shipment. Combining the two seizures, the total amounted to 1,585 pounds of meth, valued at tens of millions of dollars.
During a press conference, U.S. Attorney Theodore Herzberg remarked on the significant quantities of meth being trafficked, noting that it often comes concealed in various produce items. He emphasized the continuing challenges posed by cartel operations.
Currently, both men remain in state custody and will be transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service. Herzberg indicated that he plans to request that Solorio-Alvarado be held without bail as the case progresses. Given his criminal record, Solorio-Alvarado could face at least 15 years in prison, while Salt could be looking at a minimum of 10 years. The maximum penalty? Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
This case is part of a broader initiative under the Homeland Security Task Force, created through an executive order aimed at protecting Americans from drug trafficking and related threats.
