Greenville Co. Deputies Seize 44+ lbs Meth in Twin Traffic Stops

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Two traffic stops in Greenville County led to the seizure of more than 44 pounds of methamphetamine and 16 pounds of cocaine, with three men arrested on drug trafficking charges, the Greenville County Sheriff's Office reported. Caleb Merritt, Brian Flores and Gerardo Mora were taken into custody following an extensive investigation that uncovered the massive drug load during routine patrols. The operation highlights the persistent meth crisis in South Carolina's Upstate, where interstate highways like I-85 serve as prime corridors for traffickers.

The busts occurred amid heightened law enforcement scrutiny in the region, mirroring recent federal crackdowns nearby. Just weeks ago in Spartanburg, federal prosecutors sentenced six Upstate residents—including 26-year-old twins Mikayluh and Mikenzi Walker of Gaffney, their 67-year-old grandmother Sondra Walker, and others—to a combined 813 months in prison for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of meth since 2022. Mikayluh Walker alone was accountable for 250 kilograms of meth and over 600 grams of fentanyl, with evidence showing firearms possession tied to the conspiracy.

Jonathan Adam Sarratt, 38, an inmate in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, received 25 years in federal prison for leading a related 250-kilogram meth ring out of Spartanburg. Christopher Biggerstaff, 42, of Chesnee, drew additional time for firearms violations in the family-led scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Schoen is prosecuting the ongoing cases, which reveal deep-rooted networks distributing meth across Gaffney, Chesnee, Simpsonville and beyond.

Greenville County's action adds to statewide efforts combating meth surges linked to Mexican cartels, as seen in a Charlotte-area case where two Mexican nationals—Leonardo Sandoval-Ocampo and Gerardo Agustin Salinas-Isais—were sentenced in April to 150 and 135 months for trafficking multi-kilogram quantities of meth, fentanyl and cocaine from the Sinaloa Cartel. South Carolina authorities continue targeting these pipelines to protect Upstate communities.