Drug agents called it “Operation Taking Care of Business,” and it netted four dozen suspects: the 48 suspected methamphetamine traffickers were also caught with heroin, firearms, and cash. Drug agents from Banks, Hall, Habersham, White, Lumpkin, and Forsyth counties made the arrests.

From WSB TV…

“We didn’t just take drugs off the street – what we did was save lives,” Freeman said.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes attended the news conference held Friday as officials announced more details of the arrests.

For nearly a year, investigators conducted surveillance to see how large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin were getting into the north Georgia area.

They collected enough information to get warrants on 48 people and started to arrest them Thursday. By Friday, they had everyone in custody.

When investigators searched the suspects’ homes, police said they confiscated 50 kilos of methamphetamine, half a kilo of heroin, 20 firearms, six cars and $70,000 in cash.

The GBI said the street value associated with all the drugs seized is approximately $705,000.

“The hard work has been put in – just to send a message that we’re not going to tolerate whats been going on in our communities,” Habersham County Sheriff Joey Taylor said.

The photos may look like police just took a bunch of drugs off the street. But officials said there’s much more to it.

“This is not just a drug bust – this is a disruption of a criminal element,” Freeman said. “These things trickle down. They create violent crime, property crime. They create things that disrupt our communities.”

Cox Media Group