A two-day drug operation last week resulted in the seizure of almost 2 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday in a press release.
Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the investigation began last week at the Lowndes County Courthouse after someone walked through a metal detector with drugs in their pocket. From there, investigators began to work their way up the supply chain.
“The investigators started working the case and eventually identified a house that was distributing drugs,” Hawkins told The Dispatch on Wednesday.
Agents with LCSO’s Narcotics STING Unit executed a search warrant Aug. 8 for the residence of Jimmy Johns, 39, at 320 Eubanks Drive in Columbus. More drugs were recovered in the search, Hawkins said, resulting in the arrests of Johns, Phil Mann, 54, of Amory, and Candace Holloway, 33, of Greenwood Springs.
Investigators up to that point had recovered about 183 grams (0.4 pounds) of methamphetamine. From there, Hawkins said agents had enough information to go up the supply chain and identify a supplier.
As a result, Calvin Baskin, 54, of West Point was found in possession of about 908 grams (2 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine. He was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, according to the press release.
Mann and Holloway were both charged with possession of a controlled substance. Mann was released after posting a $20,000 bond, and Holloway was released on a $10,000 bond.
Johns and Baskin, who were both on probation with the Mississippi Department of Corrections at the time of their arrests, remain at the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.
Johns is charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of sale of a controlled substance with a total bond of $95,000. Baskin is charged with aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance with a bond of $250,000.
In total, the investigation recovered more than two pounds of crystal methamphetamine, which Hawkins estimated may have a street value of about $6,000. Hawkins praised how quickly investigators wrapped up the case.
“Normally those types of investigations can take quite some time to put the pieces of the puzzle together,” he said. “But the stars were lined up and everything just fell into place.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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