Mexican national caught by Georgia troopers with 440 pounds of methamphetamine in van, DA says

A Mexican national is facing a federal drug trafficking charge after officials say he was caught driving a van containing over 440 pounds of methamphetamine in metro Atlanta. Federal prosecutors say 57-year-old Gerardo Miranda Mendoza had previously been convicted on charges and removed from the United States twice before his most recent arrest. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, law enforcement spotted a meeting between Mendoza and another individual in the parking lot of a Stonecrest store. Investigators say Mendoza arrived at the location in a van and entered the store. While inside, the other man allegedly drove the van to a Conyers warehouse, loaded trash bags into the vehicle, and returned it to the parking lot, at which point Mendoza took control of the vehicle. A Georgia State Patrol trooper stopped the van a short time later. Officials say officers discovered around 440 pounds of methamphetamine in the trash bags. Authorities say Mendoza had previously been convicted of transporting controlled substances in 1998 in California and had a federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute crystal methamphetamine in 2009. He had most recently been deported in 2027. "Despite two prior drug trafficking convictions and subsequent deportations, Mendoza allegedly returned illegally and attempted to traffic a massive amount of methamphetamine in our community," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "As a result of the tireless efforts and dedication of the Homeland Security Task Force, Mendoza now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in federal prison, and nearly a quarter-ton of deadly methamphetamine has been taken off the street." Mendoza is now charged with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and illegal reentry by a previously removed alien. He remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service without bail. In: Drug Trafficking Georgia Crime Featured Local Savings