Crime & Safety

Women Arrested in Cross-Country Marijuana Trafficking Bust

Authorities in Cherokee County searched a home in Canton and discovered marijuana that had been shipped in from Oregon.

Two women have been charged with allegedly trafficking marijuana from Oregon to Georgia. 

Agents with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, or CMANS, arrested Silvia Joyce Hyder, 56, of Tucker and have charged her with trafficking marijuana after a raid was conducted on the Canton home of fellow suspect Linda Hansen, 66. 

CMANS Commander Phil Price said authorities plan to also arrest and charge Hansen with trafficking marijuana, as has been allowed to turn herself in to the Cherokee Adult Detention Center after seeking medical attention for health-related issues. 

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Price said both women were at the home at the time of the search, but noted "there would have been some issues" if agents had taken Hansen into custody before she'd had a chance to address her medical concerns. 

He noted agents will contact Hansen's attorney to coordinate a time when she will turn herself in. 

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According to a press release from the agency, Hansen allegedly received the drugs, and agents believe she was holding them at her home on Oak Haven Drive until they were picked up by Hyder. 

CMANS agents were able to track down two separate shipments of over 20 pounds of marijuana to the home, CMANS Commander Phil Price said. The drugs, according to Price, originated from Oregon and were shipped across the country using commercial shipping companies.  

CMANS agents originally learned of the shipment when one of the packages had been intercepted by the Douglas Inter-Agency Narcotics Unit in Roseburg, Oregon. Agents then teamed up with their Oregon drug task force counterparts to locate and identify the shipper, a former Georgia resident, to coordinate the seizure of the marijuana. 

Agents from both Oregon and Cherokee worked closely with the shipper to "move the package in a way to be able to further the investigation," Price added.  

Price noted that due to the "elaborate packaging involved," CMANS agents will wait for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab to determine the final weight, but estimates put the total package at around 46 pounds. 

Hyder, 56, remains at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center with no bond. 


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