Man arrested in huge, $500,000 meth bust
A man was arrested Tuesday night in a drug bust that netted methamphetamine worth more than half a million dollars on the street.
Agents with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office narcotics unit worked with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Chattanooga Police Department to arrest Matthew Turner in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express in Tiftonia.
Authorities found about a pound of crystal meth and two handguns in Turner’s car, and 20 more pounds of crystal meth in his hotel room.
The drugs have an estimated value of $525,000, making this bust one of the largest meth seizures in Chattanooga history, sheriff’s office officials said. Turner is charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
Matt Lea, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, said authorities rarely see meth amounts remotely close to what was found Wednesday.
“When we do have one, a good bust will generally yield
1-2 ounces,” Lea wrote in an email. “Sometimes more, sometimes less, it depends.”
“With that said, we also will find meth periodically on routine traffic stops as well. Traffic stops generally yield an average of 1-3 grams of meth.”
According to data provided by the TBI, Hamilton County had 3,215 drug-related offenses in 2016 — 9.08 cases per 1,000 people in the county. That is appreciably lower than the statewide rate of 10.73 per 1,000 people.