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Fayette pot ring bustedWed, 02/14/2007 - 5:55pm
By: Ben Nelms
It was 2,100 marijuana plants valued at $12 million being grown in nearly a dozen homes across south metro Atlanta. Headquartered in Fayette County by Merquides Martinez, his multi-county drug operation came to a screeching halt when he and wife Blanca Botello and 24 others across the area were arrested on drug trafficking charges earlier this week. The multi-jurisdiction effort was coordinated by Fayette Sheriff’s Drug Suppression Task Force. Martinez, 35, and Botello, 34, both of 105 Greenway Court were initially charged with conspiracy to traffic in marijuana and theft of services, according to Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard, who said additional charges are pending for Martinez and Botello and the remaining 24 individuals. Charges involving additional individuals may also be forthcoming, he added. The illicit operation was organized around Botello and Martinez, said Fayette Sheriff’s Lt. Dewayne Prosser at a Wednesday press conference in Fayetteville. Botello worked as a realtor with Remax Realty and represented the buyers of as many of 12 homes in the south metro Atlanta area, he said. All the home buyers were Cubans living in the Miami area, Prosser said. Prosser said the homes were set up for grow operations, outfitted with sophisticated irrigation and lighting equipment and using alternate power sources by tapping into the home’s electric lines. All the planning and effort resulted in a rapid growth rate and fast turn-around time for harvesting, he said. The current seizures from Coweta, Newton, Rockdale and Henry counties netted marijuana valued at $12 million. Significant, said Prosser, was that no marijuana was found at the Fayette home of Martinez and Botello. “This was a sophisticated, push-button operation in newer, upper middle class homes. It was a 90-day turn around operation,” Prosser said. “To find 11 or 12 grow houses is phenomenal. And we’re not finished. Agents found more today in surrounding and nearby counties.” Fayette Sheriff Randall Johnson said Martinez was the main focus of the investigation that began in January. Martinez ran the Panoramic Garden Hydroponics store on Ga. Highway 85 in Fayetteville, though the store was listed in Botello’s name, said Fayette drug task force Capt. Mike Pruitt. Martinez and Botello told investigators they were married. Fayette County Sheriff’s Drug Suppression Task Force agents working along side East Metro Drug Task Force, Henry County Police Department, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, Butts County Sheriff’s Office and Coweta County Sheriff’s Office executed 13 search warrants and arrested 26 persons in connection with the grow operations, Johnson said. Of the 26 arrested, 25 were Cuban nationals, he said. “In 11 of the 13 search warrants executed throughout the various surrounding counties, agents located a highly sophisticated hydroponics grow operation in the basement areas of the homes,” Johnson said. “The homes contained approximately 200 plants for a total of 2,100 plants.” Johnson said the Fayette task force, acting on information provided by the High Density Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA) Group 44 for the Miami Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Jones County Sheriffs Office, began an investigation into the multi-county marijuana hydroponics grow operation. Pruitt said the investigation into the grow operation ring is continuing and other arrests might result. Commenting on the extensive operation, Pruitt said the multi-county effort would not have been possible without the cooperation of all agencies involved. The determination is currently being made by Ballard and the other district attorney’s involved as to whether to take the cases individually or have them combined as one. “We are trying to bring this to court as one mass case in Fayette County,” Ballard said. login to post comments
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