Arrests were completed Wednesday for several individuals involved in a large methamphetamine trafficking organization in Eastern Tennessee and North Georgia, the FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
The roundup began last week and initial appearances are set Friday in Chattanooga before Federal Magistrate Court Judge Bill Carter.
Authorities said the arrests are the culmination of a four-year probe. The investigation has already resulted in the conviction of 12 individuals for the distribution of more than 100 pounds of meth.
Arrested last Friday were Kevin Blalock, 45; Michael Johnson, 56 and Nikki Mercy, 28, all from Acworth, Ga.; Terry Pruitt, 53, of Waleska, Ga.; and Amanda Eskey, 31, Jessica Weeks Savage, 25, and Denise Weeks-Tolman, 43, all of Marietta, Ga.
Mark Greene, 50, of Athens, Tn.; Billy Spurling, 47, of Decatur, Tn.; Charles A. Patterson, 44; Stacey Ratcliff, 39; Randy Herron, 44; Tony McAllister, 48; Thomas Helms, 41; Herbert Lenderman, 58, and Melissa Gooch, 31, all from Cleveland, Tn., were arrested Wednesday.
Other arrests will be made, it was stated.
All of the individuals were indicted by a Chattanooga grand jury for conspiring to distribute over 500 grams of meth.
They face 10 years to life.