Six people were booked into jail this week after College Park police raided two hotels along Old National Parkway, seizing roughly 429 grams of suspected narcotics that investigators say could be worth as much as $37,155 on the street. The arrests mark the latest round in the department's ongoing Operation Zero Tolerance campaign, which has repeatedly targeted hotel rooms in the area as hubs for drug sales.
According to 11Alive, the College Park Police Department reported that six people were arrested and suspected narcotics were seized in the latest raids. The department's Special Operations unit executed search warrants at the Baymont Inn and the Red Roof Hotel along Old National Parkway, continuing an investigation into illegal drug sales at both locations.
Officers seized approximately 429 grams of suspected drugs during the combined operations, including MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl and Xanax tablets, per officers. Investigators placed the estimated street value of that haul between $18,380 and $37,155. Evidence photos from the raids showed a handgun, ammunition, cash, digital scales and packaging materials, and authorities booked about six people into jail in connection with the operation.
Department Leadership Credits Special Operations Team
College Park police department leadership commended Lieutenant Robinson, Sergeant Hill, and the Special Operations unit investigators for their work on the case, the department said. Officials described the multi-unit initiative as an ongoing effort targeting illegal drug activity throughout the city, suggesting more raids could follow as the campaign continues.
This is not the first time Operation Zero Tolerance has zeroed in on the Baymont Inn. Earlier in the campaign, WSB-TV reported that officers conducted surveillance and made multiple controlled drug buys over two days at the same hotel. That earlier sweep turned up 37 grams of fentanyl, 37 grams of crack cocaine, 7.1 ounces of marijuana, two firearms and $1,262 in cash. More broadly, earlier Operation Zero Tolerance sweeps this month led to multiple arrests and the seizure of firearms, cash, and trafficking quantities of fentanyl and crack cocaine across College Park, per the 11Alive report.
Old National Parkway's History as a Drug Enforcement Hot Spot
The corridor has drawn repeated police attention well beyond this single operation. In a separate joint narcotics effort called Operation Shutdown, College Park police reported nine total arrests along Old National Parkway, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. Officers in that case seized 244 grams of fentanyl, which police estimated carried a street value of $24,000.
Another Operation Shutdown case saw four people arrested after officers raided a hotel room at the Red Roof Inn off Old National Highway, according to Atlanta News First. Officers in that raid found more than a pound of cocaine, almost a pound of methamphetamine, several ounces of marijuana and nearly $1,000 in cash, the outlet reported. Taken together, the string of raids underscores why College Park police have kept returning to the same stretch of hotels as they press forward with Operation Zero Tolerance.
