6/3/15

White County Sheriff Neal Walden looks at the pile  of loot confiscated in drug bust Monday

White County Sheriff Neal Walden looks at the pole of loot confiscated in drug bust Monday

David Lee Hawkins  arrested during drug bust Monday in White County

David Lee Hawkins arrested during drug bust Monday in White County

(Cleveland)- Another major drug dealer has been arrested in White County. In a news release from the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, GBI Special Agent in Charge of ARDEO Mitchell Posey advised that on Monday, The White County Sheriff’s Office, FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender’s Task Force and Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) executed a search warrant at David Lee Hawkins’ residence on Pelican Drive, which is off Underwood Farm Road south of Cleveland, after a two year investigation.

Posey said, the investigation revealed Hawkins had been selling approximately 1 kilogram of methamphetamine a week over the past 2 years in White, Lumpkin, Dawson, Banks, Jackson, Habersham, and Hall Counties.

During the execution of the search warrant, authorities seized approximately 20 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, approximately $200,000, a 2014 Ford Tonka Edition F-150, a 2014 Ford Taurus, 1981 Chevrolet Corvette, and 2004 Harley Davidson Motorcycle.

Commenting on the drug arrest, White County Sheriff Neal Walden said, “ getting this drug dealer off the streets will slow the supply of meth down in North Georgia.”

The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices: White County, Lumpkin County, Towns County, Banks County, Habersham County, Stephens County, and Rabun County, along with the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, the Department of Public Safety, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.