$250k meth haul seized, distribution ring uncovered in SC drug bust

The Greenville County Drug Enforcement Unit seized $250,000 in methamphetamine from two cars coming into South Carolina from Georgia and uncovered a drug ring operating from a hotel near Woodruff.

The DEU said the ring was attempting to smuggle drugs into Greenville County.

Three people were arrested, the drug enforcement agency announced: Tina Marie Foust, 34; Chris William Bridwell, 39; and Matthew Scott Waters, 34 They were charged with trafficking in methamphetamine. Unit Commander Bart McEntire said they are all from the Upstate.

Four pounds of the drug were seized.

McEntire said the months-long investigation centered on what he called a drug corridor between Atlanta and Greenville.

“It is the ‘cannonball run’ of drug trafficking. Just like the history of the cannonball run highway races, traffickers will utilize runners, makeshift vehicles equipped with hidden compartments, tandem teams, utilize back roads and employ other means to prevent law enforcement from intercepting shipments. Unfortunately for this group, it did not work and we were waiting,” he said.

McEntire said he has been in law enforcement for 42 years and is astounded by the amount of meth coming into Upstate South Carolina.

Atlanta is known as a high service area for meth, he said.

“The Mexican cartels have been able to set up a base of operation there,” McEntire said

The Drug Enforcement Unit was established in 2019 and is composed of all law enforcement agencies in Greenville County. When it was established, officials said it was intended to investigate drug offenses in a holistic way across jurisdictions.

Since then, 140 pounds of methamphetamine have been seized. Heroin and cocaine remain problems but the meth trade is “out of this world,” McEntire said. It’s east to make, highly profitable and the cartels can control the supply.

This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 1:42 PM.