Authorities say a federal investigation into a sprawling methamphetamine distribution operation led to the indictment of two men after huge amounts of the drug were discovered hidden inside blackberry shipments.
Prosecutors allege that 44-year-old Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado of Mexico, who spent 17 years in federal prison on earlier drug and firearm convictions, played a central role in coordinating the movement of tens of millions of dollars worth of methamphetamine.
Investigators say the stimulant was disguised within refrigerated produce shipments in the Atlanta area that appeared routine until federal surveillance uncovered the scheme.
Solorio-Alvarado now faces charges of conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
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According to federal officials, he is also an illegal immigrant who remained in the United States after his release from federal custody.
His alleged partner, 36-year-old Atlanta resident Nelson Enrique Sorto, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine while on probation for a 2024 felony drug conviction.
U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg outlined the scope of the investigation during a Wednesday news conference, calling the discovery of 1,585 pounds of methamphetamine one of the largest such seizures in the region.
Hertzberg said the size and concealment of the shipments were consistent with tactics used by drug cartels.
“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,” Hertzberg commented.
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“He was then, and he remains, an illegal alien, unlawfully present in the United States.”
He noted that investigators have busted drug organizations before for hiding methamphetamine within produce.
“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,” he listed.
According to investigators, the case intensified on November 20 when federal agents and Hall County sheriff’s deputies were conducting surveillance at a cold storage warehouse in Fulton County.
Three refrigerated box trucks parked outside drew attention, prompting agents to track the movement of one of the vehicles.
Authorities say they followed that first truck to a Gainesville gas station, where Solorio-Alvarado allegedly picked up the driver and left the refrigerated box truck behind.
After a K9 alerted officers to the presence of narcotics, agents searched the truck and uncovered 661 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the pallets of blackberries.
Solorio-Alvarado was later arrested after attempting to flee from the back of his Gainesville residence, officials said.
Inside the home, deputies located keys that matched the abandoned truck.
At the same time, a separate team of investigators had tailed a second refrigerated truck traveling through the Atlanta area, accompanied closely by an SUV that authorities say was driven by Sorto.
That SUV traveled to a southeast Atlanta home, where the box truck parked outside.
Shortly after midnight, Sorto left the property in the SUV with two passengers.
Georgia State Patrol troopers stopped the vehicle, discovering two firearms and several containers of blackberries inside, investigators reported.
Federal agents then searched the refrigerated truck outside the home and located approximately 924 pounds of methamphetamine, again packed within blackberry shipments.
Combined with the Gainesville seizure, authorities documented 1,585 pounds of the drug.
Officials say the quantities involved suggest a large-scale distribution network.
Based on the defendants’ criminal histories and the federal drug charges, Solorio-Alvarado faces at least 15 years in prison, while Sorto faces a minimum of 10 years if convicted. Both could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Authorities said both men are currently held in state custody and will be transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In a separate case involving federal drug charges, an elderly Texas woman was sentenced last Tuesday for her involvement in distributing what prosecutors alleged were 150,000 lethal doses of fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island announced Monday that 74-year-old Patricia Parker received a sentence of two years’ probation, including nine months of home confinement.
Parker, a former nurse, insisted that she did not know that her parcels contained fentanyl.
Prosecutors countered in a sentencing memorandum that the operation “presented dangers that an educated, adult woman must have recognized.”
Officials said she pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and distributing more than 310 grams of the drug.
Investigators said Parker, a Texas native now residing in Massachusetts, attempted to distribute counterfeit amphetamine pills laced with fentanyl to an undercover Food and Drug Administration agent in 2022.
A search later uncovered more than 18,000 pills in her possession, including substances resembling Adderall, oxycodone and diazepam, authorities said.
According to an affidavit, Parker received shipments of illicit pharmaceuticals from overseas, separated them into smaller quantities, and mailed them in parcels to buyers.
Her attorney characterized the dealings as a “side hustle” she adopted while dealing with financial challenges.
Prosecutors argued that Parker effectively converted her living room into a makeshift pharmacy, describing the risks as significant for both the public and Parker herself.
Parker maintained that she did not realize some of the pills she was repackaging contained fentanyl.
Her attorney said that after the pandemic devastated her career and left her struggling to pay for her medications, a supplier she had regularly used offered to provide her with drugs if she mailed pills to other customers.
Federal officials said Parker’s participation in the operation resulted in over a thousand parcels suspected of containing illicit drugs being shipped.
She pleaded guilty, received probation, and will remain under home confinement for part of her sentence.
