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BBC: If you see a big blue triangle, call 911!

This should boost tourism:  

US officials believe that Atlanta has become the principal distribution point for the Mexican drugs cartels in the eastern and southern US.

“If they were making the television show Miami Vice today it would probably be more appropriately called Metro Atlanta Vice, but with some distinctions,” says Jack Killorin, director of Atlanta’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) unit.

Here’s an audio version of the report.

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Amount of money seized from illegal drug operations in Gwinnett and other metro counties in 2008, in dollars: 70 million

Metro Atlanta’s ranking among 195 major cities in the U.S. as a drug-cartel activity center: 1

Georgia’s 6th District’s ranking among 435 congressional districts for having the happiest residents: 2

Peachtree City’s ranking among Georgia’s best affordable suburbs: 1

Median household income in Peachtree City, in dollars: 93,046

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Cobb County in February: 406

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Fulton County in February: 316

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Gwinnett County in February: 264

Number of homes for every one foreclosure in Clayton County in February: 163

Sources: USA Today, AJC.com, Business Week, RealtyTrac.com

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From USA Today:

In a city where Coca Cola, United Parcel Service and Home Depot are the titans of industry, there are new powerful forces on the block: Mexican drug cartels.

Their presence and ruthless tactics are largely unknown to most here. Yet, of the 195 U.S. cities where Mexican drug-trafficking organizations are operating, federal law enforcement officials say Atlanta has emerged as the new gateway to the troubled Southwest border.

Rival drug cartels, the same violent groups warring in Mexico for control of routes to lucrative U.S. markets, have established Atlanta as the principal distribution center for the entire eastern U.S., according to the Justice Department’s National Drug Intelligence Center.

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