DEKALB COUNTY, GA — Two metro Atlanta mechanics face multiple charges including drug trafficking after being arrested by DEA agents last month.

DeKalb County officials say Daniel Santana-Lopez, 39, an illegal alien from Guanajuato, Mexico, was arraigned Monday on conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and illegal reentry by a removed alien charges.

41-year-old Snellville man Jared Thompson was arraigned on June 30 on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime.

“These defendants, including a twice-deported illegal alien, allegedly tried to conceal a major methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in a local automobile repair shop,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Through a tenacious investigation, our federal and local law enforcement partners rooted out the defendants’ operation in our continued effort to eliminate the scourge of drug dealing from our communities.”

Police stopped Santana-Lopez after driving away from a DeKalb County auto repair shop that he worked at on Oct. 23, 2024.

DeKalb County officials say “officers allegedly found approximately 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine. The investigation revealed that Santana-Lopez was illegally in the United States, having been deported in 2014 and 2017, and had allegedly distributed methamphetamine on several previous occasions in June, July, and August 2024.”

Police also stopped Thompson as he was leaving the same auto repair shop an hour later. Police say they found approximately 140 kilograms of methamphetamine and a gun during a search.

DeKalb County officials say the 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."

Santana-Lopez and Thompson were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia on June 11.