Search warrants executed at 32 businesses

The sheriffs of Jasper, Jones, and Putnam counties executed search and arrest warrants at 32 different business locations throughout their respective communities on Jan. 10-11.  

Approximately a dozen warrants were carried out in Putnam and Jasper counties simultaneously on Wednesday morning.

According to a press release from Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, these actions were the culmination of a joint investigation that began in June 2023.

Undercover officers have been buying illegal drugs and engaging in illegal gambling activities off and on at various businesses in the three counties since the start of the investigation.

The majority of the illegal drugs purchased during the investigation were vaping products containing illegal amounts of THC. Products containing THC of no more than .3 percent are legal in Georgia. All perpetrators arrested sold vape products that contained between 2 percent and 16 percent Delta 9 THC, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills said.

One of the businesses in Jasper County also was found to have a significant quantity of hydrocodone, morphine and other narcotics in the business.

Undercover officers also gambled on coin-operated amusement machines at many of the locations. The coin amusement machines are legal in Georgia; however, paying out cash winnings on the devices’ amounts is a felony crime.

Authorities are withholding the names of those being arrested until all the arrests have been made, Sills said.

See next week’s Eatonton Messenger for complete details of this story.