Sheriff Taylor highlights opioid issue after man found with $100,000 in drugs

Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor highlighted the opioid issue in the community Friday morning after a man was found with more than $100,000 worth of drugs during a traffic stop on Highway 431.

"People, they don't understand that prescription drugs are the largest problem of drugs in our whole society," he said. "Mommy and Daddy's medicine cabinet is where it starts, and we have to control that better than what we do in our communities."

Nathan C. Adams, 23, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with trafficking meth, trafficking marijuana and possession of Oxycontin. He was booked into the Russell County Jail.

Sheriff Heath Taylor said Adams was coming from Panama, Florida, around 3 p.m. Wednesday when deputies stopped him on Highway 431 for a traffic violation.

Some K9s with the deputies sniffed out drugs in the vehicle. Officials found more than $100,000 worth of drugs, including 3 pounds of marijuana, 1 kilogram of crystal meth and 494 Oxycontin pills.

Taylor said a crime lab will test the drugs are laced with Fentanyl, an opioid that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said is up to 10 times stronger. It led to 17 deaths in 2016, according to the GBI.

The sheriff said there is an opioid problem in society that needs to be addressed.

"Good proactive police work is certainly paying off in this situation," Taylor said. "We want to highlight the things our deputies do and get out there and try to make a difference in our community."

Sarah Robinson: 706-571-8622, @sarahR_92

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Sheriff Taylor highlights opioid issue after man found with $100,000 in drugs."