Metro Atlanta man who hid kilograms of fentanyl in car batteries sentenced to prison, authorities say

A Lawrenceville man has been sentenced to years in prison for trafficking dozens of kilograms of fentanyl and other drugs in metro Atlanta, officials say.

Gabriel Ojeda Murguia, nicknamed "Taliban," had pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and conspiring to possess fentanyl with the intent to distribute in May.

According to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Murguia was found to have sold fentanyl and methamphetamine in Gwinnett County between April 2024 and April 2025.

Investigators say that Murguia once sold over 2,000 fentanyl pills and had previously sold a kilogram of methamphetamine for $2,700.

"The obscene amount of fentanyl Murguia possessed posed a significant threat to public health and public safety. If law enforcement had not stopped it from hitting the street, this poison could have ended tens of thousands of lives," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.

Murguia was arrested on April 17, 2025, after law enforcement executed a search warrant at a home in Lilburn after seeing Murguia go into the building. During the search, officials say they found around 25 kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine. Authorities say around 15 kilograms of the fentanyl had been hidden inside car batteries.

Murguia had previously been convicted of battery and family violence battery.

On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Murguia to nine years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.