Man Sentenced in $3M Meth Case in Gwinnett

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A Chicago man was convicted and sentenced for drug trafficking in connection to the seizure of $3 million in methamphetamine found in the Mall of Georgia parking lot in 2014.

Joshua Leonardo Estrada, who prosecutors said had ties to a Mexico-based meth trafficking organization, was found guilty Thursday in Superior Court and sentenced to 30 years, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office said in an announcement.

The DA’s office said Estrada was identified by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in late 2013 as an associate of a trafficking network that imported large quantities of methamphetamine from Mexico into the country in commercial-grade vehicle batteries.

During surveillance on Feb. 18, 2014, Estrada was seen making contact with a driver of an 18-wheeler parked at a Pilot truck stop in Cobb County. DEA saw the two exchange five commercial-size batteries which were placed in the tool box of Estrada’s pickup truck.

Agents followed the truck into Gwinnett County, when Estrada apparently noticed he was being followed and ditched the truck in the parking lot at the Mall of Georgia near Buford. He called a cab and left the area.

Agents found 25 kilograms of methamphetamine stored in the batteries. The estimated street value was $3 million, the district attorney’s office said.

Estrada was arrested months later in Chicago.

He will be credited with time served since he was arrested on May 19, 2014.

Photo: Joshua Leonardo Estrada; Gwinnett County Jail mug shot