Police in College Park, Georgia, say a two-day undercover operation at a hotel turned up the same amount of two drugs: 37 grams of fentanyl and 37 grams of crack cocaine. Officers seized 37 grams of fentanyl, 37 grams of crack cocaine, 7.1 ounces of marijuana, two firearms and $1,262 in cash. Police reported that both the fentanyl and crack cocaine were recovered in trafficking quantities. Under Georgia law, that label matters a great deal. If prosecutors bring trafficking charges for the fentanyl alone and win a conviction, the mandatory minimum is decades in prison.

The seizures were announced as part of the department’s ongoing crackdown, Operation Zero Tolerance. WSB-TV was first to report the results.

Inside the Baymont Hotel Operation on Old National Parkway

According to police, the department’s Special Operations Unit conducted surveillance and made multiple controlled drug buys over two days at the Baymont Hotel on Old National Parkway. In a controlled buy, undercover officers or informants purchase drugs while police watch. Investigators often use these purchases to build probable cause before they make arrests or search a location.

The full list of items seized also included two firearms and ammunition and over $1,200 in cash and cell phones. Police did not release a street value for the drugs. The available reports do not name anyone arrested or charged in the hotel case.

Officials described a wider effort behind the seizures. Authorities said the multi-unit initiative, which involved the department’s Special Operations, Narcotics, Patrol, and Community Policing (COPS) units, targeted illegal drug activity across the city through undercover work and proactive street enforcement.

Separate Traffic Stop Ends With a Drug-Free Zone Charge

The operation also included a second, unrelated arrest. Authorities state that on Nov. 6, Community Policing Unit officers patrolling near Atlanta Street and Simmons Street spotted a vehicle matching a description listed in an incident report. Officers stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver. A search of the vehicle led to officers finding suspected packaged narcotics and cash spread across multiple bags.

The driver was arrested and faces multiple charges, including a drug-free zone charge. Police have not publicly named the driver, identified the drugs, or said how much was found. The department commended Officer Poarch and Detective Gray for their work on the case.

Under Georgia’s drug-free zone law, possessing drugs with intent to distribute near protected places such as schools and parks is a separate felony. That charge can be added on top of the underlying drug count. For more on how police and prosecutors tell personal use apart from sales, see our explainer on possession vs. intent to distribute.

Georgia Trafficking Penalties: Why 37 Grams of Fentanyl Matters

Georgia treats fentanyl more harshly than almost any other drug, and the 37 grams seized at the hotel is well above the trafficking threshold. In 2025, lawmakers approved Senate Bill 79, the “Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act.” Under the new law, individuals found with four grams or more of fentanyl will face mandatory minimum prison sentences ranging from 10 years (for 4-8 grams) to 35 years (for 28 grams or more), accompanied by substantial fines from $75,000 to $750,000. The law went into effect on July 1, 2025 and will apply to criminal offenses committed on or after that date.

The crack cocaine falls under the long-standing cocaine trafficking provisions of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31. If the quantity of the cocaine or the mixture involved is 28 grams or more, but less than 200 grams, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years and shall pay a fine of $200,000.00. The 7.1 ounces of marijuana is far below Georgia’s trafficking threshold for marijuana, which is at least 10 lbs.

These penalties apply only if someone is charged with trafficking and convicted. Police have not said what charges, if any, were filed in the hotel case. Field weights are also preliminary. To make a trafficking charge stick, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you knowingly possessed, sold, delivered, manufactured, or brought the drug into Georgia, that the substance really is the controlled substance charged, and that it met the weight threshold. Lab testing usually settles those questions.

Old National Parkway and Metro Atlanta’s Fentanyl Problem

The Old National Parkway hotel corridor has been a repeat target for College Park police. Earlier this year, during a separate effort called “Operation Shutdown,” College Park Police and partner agencies arrested nine people and seized $24,000 worth of fentanyl in a coordinated drug bust on Old National Parkway. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that officers were at the Baymont and Days Inn on Old National Parkways during that operation.

Federal officials have long described the Atlanta area as a center of the drug trade. In a January 2026 interview, a DEA Atlanta Division official said Atlanta is a regional hub or base operations for drug traffickers, because there is access to a large airport and several major interstates. The 2026 Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA Drug Threat Assessment found that fentanyl is easily obtained throughout the AC HIDTA AOR in powder, pill, and brick form. Learn more about these federally funded task forces in our guide, What Is a HIDTA?

Larger seizures have also hit the area. Last year, FBI and DEA agents searched a rental home in nearby Forest Park, where they seized 21 kilos, or 46 pounds of fentanyl, along with $380,000 in cash, a weapon, and drug packaging evidence.

Overdose Deaths in Georgia and Fulton County

The public health data shows both progress and ongoing risk. CDC State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System figures show there were 1,936 overdose deaths in Georgia in 2024. The 2024 totals represented a decrease of 22% from 2023, when the state reported 2,505 overdose deaths. Fentanyl’s share also fell: in 2024, the percentage of fentanyl-involved overdose deaths dropped to 54.8%.

At the county level, the most recent Georgia Department of Public Health figures show Fulton County had 230 opioid-involved overdose deaths in 2023, for a rate of 21.3 deaths per 100,000 people. About 210 of those deaths, or around 90%, involved fentanyl. To see how these numbers fit the national picture, read our breakdown of U.S. overdose death statistics. To understand why even a few grams of fentanyl are treated so seriously, see how fentanyl compares to heroin and carfentanil.

What Happens Next in the College Park Cases

Both cases came from a city police department working under Georgia law, so they are expected to move through state court rather than federal court unless federal prosecutors take them over. Our explainer on federal vs. state drug charges explains how that decision is usually made. The suspected drugs will be sent to a crime lab to confirm what they are and how much they weigh. Prosecutors will then decide which charges to bring.

Police have not released the names of anyone arrested, court dates, or bond information. The driver arrested on Nov. 6 is charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Police say Operation Zero Tolerance is ongoing and involves multiple divisions across the department, including Special Operations, Narcotics, Patrol and the Community Policing Unit. More enforcement actions could be announced in the coming weeks.