'Flood' of drugs from Mexico linked to area abductions

recent increase in drug-related kidnappings in Gwinnett County has put a spotlight on drug violence in Georgia, federal agents say.

About nine drug-related kidnappings have occurred in Gwinnett this year. The latest involved a man bound and chained in a basement in Lilburn whom federal agents rescued earlier this month.

methamphetamine and marijuana into the country for distribution up the East Coast, said Rodney Benson, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta. Drug-related kidnappings have increased in the past 90 days, he said.

David Nahmias, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said Gwinnett is a center of Mexican drug cartel activity in the area because of easy transportation on I-85 and a large Hispanic population where traffickers can try to blend in.

Three Gwinnett cases in the past three months have involved a kidnapping victim held in a home and released after a police rescue or a stakeout of a ransom drop.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2008/07/20/drug.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

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The consumption cartels playing victims

Out of Gwinnett with a real large grain of salt. They have a very aggressive drug taskforce there, one that has come in for more than a share of criticism, and they may be angling for another budget increase.

When was the last time anybody got kidnapped over a Budweiser concession?

Legalize, regulate, tax.

Make both the traffickers and the cops find some way to make an honest living.