Box of Gain hid 4 pounds of meth given to undercover cop at Burger King, feds say

Two men took part in a scheme to try and sell “high-purity” meth in Georgia and Florida by hiding pounds of the drug inside boxes of laundry detergent, according to federal prosecutors.

One of the men delivered a box of bright green Gain laundry detergent with roughly four pounds of meth hidden inside to an undercover police officer at a Burger King in Plant City, Florida, in July 2021, court documents show.

Now the other man, 52, of Atlanta, who helped coordinate this delivery, has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced in a Feb. 2 news release.

The Atlanta man planned to sell and profit off of several kilograms of meth while the other man, described as his “drug courier,” was supposed to handle deliveries but was eventually caught in the process, prosecutors said.

The drugs were from Guadalajara, Mexico, according to officials.

McClatchy News contacted both men’s attorneys for comment on Feb. 3 and didn’t immediately receive a response.

After the Gain laundry detergent delivery, the Atlanta man arrived at Temple Terrace, Florida to collect $11,000 worth of drug money before coming up with a plan with his drug courier to deliver even more meth, prosecutors said.

To carry out this delivery, about 10 pounds of meth were hidden inside two orange boxes of Tide laundry detergent, according to court documents.

Ultimately, the delivery wasn’t successful as the drug courier was caught with the boxes of Tide during a traffic stop in Lowndes County, Georgia on July 29, 2021, prosecutors said.

Now he’s due to appear for a jury trial in a Tampa courtroom on April 3, court records show. He’s facing charges including conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Meanwhile, a sentencing hearing for the Atlanta man who pleaded guilty in connection with the meth-selling scheme hasn’t been scheduled yet, according to prosecutors.

This story was originally published February 3, 2023 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Box of Gain hid 4 pounds of meth given to undercover cop at Burger King, feds say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.