NORCROSS, GA — A 47-year-old Mexican national, who was in the U.S. illegally, faces federal charges after DEA Atlanta agents seized 325 pounds of meth from a storage facility in metro Atlanta.

On October 10, Marco Cueto-Rosales was observed by DEA agents entering an outdoor storage unit in Norcross and moving items around in plastic tote bins and trash bags. Later that same day, US Department of Justice officials say a Gwinnett County police K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from the storage unit.

Agents later obtained a federal search warrant for the unit and recovered 1,500 rectangular packages and methamphetamine in trash bags and plastic totes. Cueto-Rosales faces federal charges of possession with intent to distribute.

“Cueto-Rosales, who was illegally in the United States, allegedly hid a large amount of methamphetamine in a public storage unit,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Although the Mexican cartels stockpile and peddle their poison in our community, the quick actions of law enforcement thankfully took these deadly drugs off the streets.”

“This operation is about more than drugs – it’s about protecting families and giving our communities a chance to live free from the violence and addiction that meth brings,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, and it is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance by the Gwinnet County Police Department, officials say.