Pubdate: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA) Copyright: 2002 Cox Interactive Media. Contact: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28 Author: Chandler Brown, Staff Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) CONYERS BUST NETS $8 MILLION IN DRUGS Federal agents have seized 7,500 pounds of marijuana and 53 pounds of cocaine, together worth $8 million, in a bust they say should cripple a drug smuggling ring. Drug Enforcement Administration agents also say they found $1.3 million in cash in a Conyers home that they allege was a regional drop-off point for a Mexican drug cartel. Arrested were Jose Francisco Hernandez-Padilla, 18, of Conyers; Alfonso Longoria, 22, of Edinburg, Texas; and Ruben Briseno, 54, of Tucson, Ariz., DEA officials said. Each was charged with felony intent to distribute a controlled substance and was being held in the Rockdale County Jail awaiting arraignment today in federal court in Atlanta. Authorities say a truck was loaded with drugs in Mexico on Friday, and the cargo was discovered hidden inside concrete planters during a routine check in Texas. Agents say they tracked the truck until it stopped at a Home Depot store in Conyers on Sunday before being driven to a Conyers warehouse, where the drugs were seized Monday. The seizure of both drugs and cash should disable the ring, said DEA Special Agent John Andrejko "It really makes a dent in their operation," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl