A man who authorities say regularly transported drugs and money back and forth from Atlanta has been sentenced to serve 14 years in federal prison.
Anthony Long, 42, appeared before Federal Judge Sandy Mattice on Wednesday.
Long had enough prior offenses that he qualified as an armed career criminal, prosecutor Terra Bay said.
Agents said Long would take the meth to drug dealers in and around Ranger, Ga., in Gordon County, and some of the drugs would go to Polk County, Tn., and be sold there.
He would also act as a courier taking drug money back to Atlanta.
On Oct. 4, 2012, agents learned that Jose Manuel Juarez had arranged to deliver two pounds of meth to Sammy Cronan. Juarez gave a confidential source the phone number of Long, who was known as "Gator" and was a regular "mule" for Cronan.
The delivery was arranged at a shopping center. Agents watched Juarez bring a detergent box with two pounds of meth inside and put it in the trunk of the confidential source's car. The confidential source then took the detergent box out of the trunk and transferred it to Long, who was driving a silver Volvo.
Agents followed the silver Volvo onto I-75 and tried to make a traffic stop. Long initially slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder, but he suddenly pulled back onto the freeway. Agents said they followed him for about 10 minutes at speeds above 100 mph before finally pulling back for the safety of other drivers.
A co-defendant, Dennis Glover, later told agents that Long arrived at a house in Ranger, Ga., and turned over the detergent box full of meth.