Trio guilty of running meth lab near elementary school

Investigation led agents to house across from Rockbridge Elementary..

Three cousins have pleaded guilty to running a meth lab near a Norcross elementary school, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Roberto Arroyo-Garcia, 37, of Norcross pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of methamphetamine trafficking on premises where a minor child resides and within 1,000 feet of a school. Zury Brito-Arroyo, 27, and Bonifaci Brito-Maldonado, 23, pleaded guilty Oct. 17 to those charges and an additional charge of maintaining a premises for methamphetamine trafficking.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents began investigating a Norcross meth distributor in August 2017. The investigation led them to a house across the street from Rockbridge Elementary School in Norcross.

After the house was identified, Brito-Arroyo was seen leaving the property and was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol officer. The officer found $10,000 in cash wrapped in cellophane in the car, as well as a 9 mm pistol, the Justice Department said. Brito-Arroyo was arrested.

The Homeland Security agents got a search warrant for Brito-Arroyo’s phone and found an app that showed security footage from inside the house. The agents then got a warrant to search the house, where they found Arroyo-Garcia and Brito-Maldonado “actively operating” a meth lab in a backyard shed, the Justice Department said. They were both arrested.

Agents seized more than 12 kilograms of crystal meth and an unspecified amount of liquid meth, the Justice Department said. They also found another 9 mm pistol, more than $8,500 in cash and “other methamphetamine trafficking paraphernalia,” according to a Justice Department release.

Sentencing has not occurred yet, and no sentencing date was provided by the Justice Department on Thursday.