Buchanan city police have, in the past two months, made a major drug seizure and arrested a man in connection with the theft of outdoor equipment, according to Police Chief Tracy Lambert.

The most recent incident, the drug seizure, occurred June 7 and represents the largest recovery of methamphetamine in city police history, Lambert said.

According to police Capt. Bobby Patterson, Officer Joe Phagan discovered the methamphetamine while investigating a suspicious vehicle parked at the Fleet station on Business 27 downtown. Lambert said the substance was inside a camera case left in the vehicle.

“We feel that it was a drop, and we intercepted that drop before it was made,” Lambert said.

Patterson said the weight of the illegal drug was 5.3 ounces, or 150.25 grams. According to the meth awareness and drug recovery site Kci.org, the drug has a “street value” of at least $100 a gram, making the Buchanan seizure worth at least $15,000.

No arrest was made at the time of the recovery, and Lambert said the incident is still under investigation. He added that it is believed the owner of the vehicle had nothing to do with the suspected drug drop.

In early May, city police arrested a Buchanan man and charged him in connection with the theft of lawn care and other outdoor equipment from several locations, ranging from the city to Haralson and Polk Counties.

Patterson identified the man as Nicholas Chad White, 29, of Ben Davis Road, Buchanan. He said White was charged with felony theft by taking after officers recovered two personal water craft, two utility trailers, three lawn mowers, a weed eater and a carry-all trailer from Polk County, and three additional weed eaters and various other tools from locations in Buchanan and Haralson County.

Lambert said the arrest was made on May 8, not long after an incident at the site of the Thomas Kelly Senior Living Community on Club Road. Lambert said security cameras at the site gave officers a picture of a vehicle, allowing them to broadcast a lookout. Haralson County sheriff’s deputies later found a car matching the description and arrested the suspect.

Lambert was called to the sheriff’s department while attending a Buchanan City Council meeting.

“One of my officers came and got me, so I went over and interviewed (the suspect), and he ended up admitting to several different thefts,” Lambert said.

Lambert added that after interviewing the subject, officers were able to determine the location of reported stolen merchandise and were able to recover it. Lambert said that some of the equipment was returned to its owners after serial numbers were checked through Epling’s Lawn Mower service.

“Overall, we recovered several thousands dollars worth of lawn mowers and lawn care equipment, and we were able to solve, with two counties and the city of Buchanan, approximately six different crimes,” Lambert said.