Illegal alien indicted following seizure of 325 pounds of methamphetamine from Norcross storage facility

ATLANTA – Marco Cueto-Rosales, an illegal alien from Mexico, has been arraigned in connection with the seizure of 325 pounds of methamphetamine from a Norcross storage unit on October 10, 2025.

“Cueto-Rosales, who was illegally in the United States, allegedly hid a large amount of methamphetamine in a public storage unit,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Although the Mexican cartels stockpile and peddle their poison in our community, the quick actions of law enforcement thankfully took these deadly drugs off the streets.”

“This operation is about more than drugs – it’s about protecting families and giving our communities a chance to live free from the violence and addiction that meth brings,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On October 10, 2025, agents from the DEA observed Cueto-Rosales enter an outdoor storage unit in Norcross and move items around in plastic tote bins and trash bags. Later that same day, a Gwinnett County Police Department K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics emanating from the storage unit. Agents then obtained a federal search warrant for the unit. 

Upon execution of the search warrant, agents found nearly 1,500 rectangular packages of methamphetamine located in trash bags and plastic tote bins.  The methamphetamine weighed a total of 325 pounds.

Prior to the search, agents detained Cueto-Rosales, who they determined was an illegal alien unlawfully in the United States.

Marco Cueto-Rosales, 47, of Malinalco, Mexico, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Regina D. Cannon, on federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Cueto-Rosales was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 28, 2025.   

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with valuable assistance provided by the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. LaGrone is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.