Man charged with drug trafficking after authorities seize more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine

Share Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A Mexican man has been charged after authorities seized more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine from a van in Conyers, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia. Prosecutors said Gerardo Miranda Mendoza, 57, of Morelia, Mexico, drove a van to a store parking lot in Stonecrest on Nov. 7, where he met another man. The other man then drove the van to a warehouse in Conyers and allegedly loaded trash bags into it before returning it to the parking lot, prosecutors said. Mendoza then drove away. A Georgia State Patrol trooper stopped the van for a traffic violation, and authorities found approximately 440 pounds of methamphetamine in the trash bags, prosecutors said. Mendoza was in the country illegally after being deported twice following separate drug convictions, prosecutors said. He was charged with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegal reentry after removal. “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,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. “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.” Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.