An undocumented immigrant from Mexico, who previously spent almost twenty years in federal custody, was charged Tuesday with allegedly orchestrating the transportation of methamphetamine valued at tens of millions of dollars in the Atlanta region. Authorities discovered nearly 1,600 pounds of the drug concealed within shipments of blackberries.

Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado, 44, from Mexico, faces charges of conspiracy and intent to distribute methamphetamine.

He had earlier completed a 17-year prison term following a conviction for felony possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, alongside possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.

Authorities revealed the arrests in Georgia on Wednesday, presenting an enormous haul of methamphetamine. (Source: @FBIAtlanta via X)

His alleged partner, Nelson Enrique Sorto, 36, from Atlanta, is also charged with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He is currently on probation following a 2024 conviction for felony methamphetamine possession.

On November 20, federal agents, along with Hall County sheriff’s deputies, observed three refrigerated box trucks stationed outside a cold storage facility in Fulton County.

They followed one of the trucks to a gas station in Gainesville and watched as Solorio-Alvarado picked up the driver and left the abandoned box truck at the gas station, according to officials.

The drugs were allegedly found in box trucks transporting blackberries, according to officials. (@FBIAtlanta via X)

After a K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics, agents searched the truck and recovered about 661 pounds of methamphetamine hidden among pallets of blackberries. 

Solorio-Alvarado was later arrested while trying to flee out of the back of his Gainesville home, according to authorities. Inside the house, deputies found keys to the abandoned truck.

At the same time, another team of agents followed a second box truck as it traveled in tandem with an SUV, allegedly driven by Sorto, to a home in southeast Atlanta.

The two men arrested were previously convicted of drug-related offenses, according to authorities. (@FBIAtlanta via X)

Shortly after midnight, Sorto left in the SUV with two passengers and Georgia State Patrol troopers stopped them, finding two guns and several containers of blackberries in the SUV, officials said.

During a subsequent search of the box truck parked outside the Atlanta home, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, assisted by the FBI, recovered about 924 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in pallets of blackberries. 

Combined, the two seizures amounted to 1,585 pounds of methamphetamine.

Officials said the large amount of meth was worth tens of millions of dollars. (@FBIAtlanta via X)

During a news conference on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said the two seizures amounted to 1,585 pounds of methamphetamine, worth tens of millions of dollars.

“Solorio-Alvarado was convicted in federal court for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and he served nearly two decades in federal prison for those offenses. He was then, and he remains, an illegal alien, unlawfully present in the United States,” Hertzberg said. “We’ve seen the cartels operate this way before… we have seen massive methamphetamine seizures of drugs that were smuggled in with cucumbers, celery or jalapeño peppers. And now … blackberries.”

Both men remain in state custody, but will be transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service.

After appearing in federal court, Hertzberg said his office will move for them to be held without bail until their cases have been resolved.

Solorio-Alvarado faces at least 15 years in prison because of his criminal history, and Sorto faces at least 10 years in prison. The maximum sentences are life in prison without parole.

The prosecutions are also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”