FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2014
COAST TO COAST MARIJUANA RING BROKEN
Agents of the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad (CMANS) conducted a search at a residence on Oak Haven Drive in Canton, GA. Agents will be charging the resident, Linda Hansen, with Trafficking in Marijuana. Agents arrested Sylvia Joyce Hyder, of Tucker, Georgia for Trafficking in Marijuana. Agents allege that Ms. Hansen received the drugs and held them to be picked up by Ms. Hyder. Agents were able to track two separate shipments of over 20 pounds of marijuana to the residence. The drugs originated in Oregon and were shipped across the country using commercial shipping companies.
CMANS Agents worked with drug task force agents in Oregon to identify the shipper, a former Georgia resident, and to coordinate the seizure of the drugs. Due to the elaborate packaging involved, agents will wait for the GBI Crime lab to determine the final weight of the contraband, but estimates are that the total weight of the marijuana was about 46 pounds.
Agents learned of the shipments when one of the packages was intercepted by the Douglas Inter-Agency Narcotics Unit in Roseburg, Oregon. Both Oregon and Cherokee agents worked closely with the shipper to move the package in a way to be able to further the investigation. Ms. Hansen, 66, was allowed to turn herself in to the Cherokee Adult Detention Center after she sought medical attention for health issues related issues.
Hyder, 56, was turned over to the Cherokee Adult Detention Center.
The Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad is a joint task force working in Cherokee County to investigate drug related violations. Participating agencies include the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the Canton Police Department, the Woodstock Police Department, the Holly Springs Police Department, the Ball Ground Police Department, the Cherokee County Marshal’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Patrol. Citizens may call in tips anonymously to (770) 345- 7920, or may speak to an agent by calling (678) 493-7625.
