ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Oscar Reynoso owed his bosses $ 300,000 , and he was running out of time . One anti-drug operation in Atlanta netted $ 10.6 million , 108 kilos of cocaine , 17 pounds of meth and 32 weapons . Gunmen snatched Reynoso and locked him in the basement of a home to try to settle the drug debt . He was chained to a wall of the basement by his hands and ankles , gagged and beaten . His captors , members of a powerful Mexican drug cartel , held Reynoso for ransom , chained in the sweltering , dirty basement for six days without food . Reynoso 's ordeal could 've been a scene from the drug war in Mexico . But it played out recently in suburban Atlanta , Georgia . U.S. federal agents are fighting to keep that kind of violence from gripping Atlanta , as the city known for Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines has become a major distribution hub for Mexican drug cartels . In fiscal year 2008 , authorities confiscated about $ 70 million in drug-related cash in Atlanta , more than anywhere else in the United States , the Drug Enforcement Administration says . This fiscal year , Atlanta continues to outpace all other U.S. regions in such seizures , with $ 30 million confiscated so far . Next are Los Angeles , California , with about $ 19 million , and Chicago , Illinois , with $ 18 million . `` There is definitely a center of this type of drug activity here , and we are working to make sure the violence does not spill out to the general public , '' Atlanta U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said . Atlanta has become a stopping point for truckloads of Mexican cocaine , heroin , marijuana and methamphetamine , agents say . The drugs are held in stash houses before being distributed up the East Coast . `` The money comes down here also to money managers in Atlanta , who get the books in order before it is sent out , '' said Rodney Benson , Atlanta 's chief of the DEA . Agents attribute the growth in drug trafficking to Atlanta 's location , proximity to other major cities and access to major highways . Authorities also point to the growth of the Hispanic population in Atlanta , which allows practitioners of the Mexican drug trade to blend in among hard-working , law-abiding Hispanics . No place is that more evident than in Gwinnett County , a community about 20 miles north of Atlanta . Gwinnett 's Hispanic population rocketed from 8,470 in 1990 to 63,727 in 2000 , according to the U.S. Census . By 2010 , 20 percent of the county 's projected population of 700,000 is expected to be Hispanic . `` In Gwinnett County , the drug dealers are able to hide in plain sight , '' county District Attorney Danny Porter said . `` To combat this , we have to be much more coordinated between my office , the police department and the federal authorities . The presence of the organizations is a dilemma enough that we have to develop new tactics . '' Federal agents say arrests and drug-related violence in Atlanta have been linked to the two most powerful Mexican organizations : the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels . A battle over drug routes has been blamed for the recent surge in violence in Mexican border towns , bloodshed that has included hundreds of deaths . The fear is that the battle will extend deeper into the United States , causing more to suffer a fate similar to Reynoso 's ordeal in the Gwinnett County basement . Lucky for Reynoso , federal agents had a wiretap on his captors ' phones . Agents stormed the home just as it appeared that the debt would not be paid and Reynoso would be killed . `` There is no doubt in my mind that we saved his life that day , '' said the DEA 's Benson . One case resolved , as cartels thrive in Atlanta .
City outpaces all others in the United States in drug-related cash seizures . The city has been a major hub for drug trafficking and money laundering since at least the early 20th century, when it was known as “Skid Row.” Location , proximity to other cities and highways cited in trafficking growth . Drug dealers `` hide in plain sight '' in suburban Gwinnett County .