Shoppers visiting the Forest Park farmers market earlier this week were likely looking for fresh fruit or winter vegetables, but federal authorities say one vendor was offering a much darker inventory from behind his produce stand.
Luis Sanchez-Acevedo, a 41-year-old national of Mexico and in the United States illegally, appeared in federal court Wednesday facing charges that he used his stall as a front to distribute thousands of fentanyl-laced pills.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Georgia, Sanchez-Acevedo is accused of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
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The investigation, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with backing from the Clayton County Police, spanned several months. Agents allege that throughout September and October 2025, Sanchez-Acevedo sold approximately 3,000 counterfeit “M-30” pills in and around his market stand.
When agents moved in to arrest him on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, they searched the produce stand and reportedly discovered another stash of roughly 1,000 counterfeit pills hidden among the goods.
Laboratory testing on the seized drugs revealed a particularly dangerous combination: fentanyl mixed with xylazine. Xylazine is a powerful sedative approved only for veterinary use in large animals, like horses and cattle. When mixed with opioids, it creates a potent street drug often referred to as “tranq,” which resists standard overdose reversal treatments like Narcan.
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“Sanchez-Acevedo allegedly distributed deadly ‘tranq’ pills containing fentanyl and xylazine at a farmers market where he sold fruits and vegetables,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg in a statement following the initial court appearance. “Our community is a safer place now that this illegal alien and his lethal pills are off the streets.”
The bust is part of a wider federal push labeled “Operation Take Back America,” a Department of Justice initiative focused on dismantling transnational criminal organizations and curbing crimes associated with illegal immigration.
Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, emphasized the agency’s focus on the supply chain. “This defendant is accused of distributing fentanyl, a drug responsible for countless overdose poisonings across our country,” Chung said. “DEA remains committed to targeting those who traffic in this poison.”
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The case is currently being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz and Edward C. Robinson Jr.
As the legal process begins, the public is reminded that a criminal complaint represents only an accusation. Sanchez-Acevedo is presumed innocent until the government proves his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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