GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Atlanta DEA Special Response Team (SRT) is working hard to keep drugs off Georgia’s streets.

DEA special agent Robert Murphy said the SRT recently took down a dangerous Mexican cartel’s methamphetamine conversion lab at a house in Gwinnett County. The team collected roughly 800 pounds of a meth-and-foam mix.

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The mix was most likely a way to hide the drugs as they were transported across the border. Once the meth is separated out, it would comprise close to thousands of doses.

Murphy said finding the right people to take on the cartels is a challenge now, too, and it’s bad timing.

“The DEA is in a huge hiring push right now. We’re down several hundred agents,” said Murphy.

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Agent Geoffrey Furman said the application process is long and selective.

He also said the job is dangerous and challenging, but rewarding.

“A job for somebody that wants to make a difference in the world,” said Furman.

Agent Murphy said they need the best and brightest for this job.

“We need the best and brightest men and women that are gonna help us combat the next 20 years of drug trafficking, which is quite frankly scary where I think it’s headed,” said Murphy.

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