A Georgia courthouse has become the epicenter of a national scandal after FBI agents and U.S. Marshals stormed a sitting judge’s chambers, seizing files, hard drives and even evidence‑room keys in what investigators say is the unmasking of a cartel protection racket that helped move 2 tons of narcotics through the very system meant to stop it.

The pre‑dawn sweep hit three targets at once: the judge’s downtown office, a suburban home and the courthouse evidence vault. According to an unsealed indictment, the judge and a tight circle of insiders allegedly rigged bonds, dismissed key charges and quietly altered chain‑of‑custody records so cartel couriers caught with bulk drugs could walk free while their “seized” loads were quietly re‑routed back onto the street.

Forensic audits show dozens of major cases where kilos logged into evidence were later listed as “destroyed” with no video, no witnesses and no paperwork beyond a forged signature. In some instances, prosecutors say, the same bricks reappeared in new traffic stops hundreds of miles away — proof that the courthouse had been turned into a laundromat for contraband as well as cash. Court clerks and a bailiff are accused of back‑dating filings, switching dockets and tipping off defense intermediaries whenever federal agencies requested sealed warrants.

By the end of the day, 27 suspects tied to the scheme — including attorneys, clerks and an evidence‑room supervisor — were in custody. Legal analysts warn that hundreds of convictions and dismissals could now be challenged, plunging Georgia’s justice system into chaos. For residents watching the scales of justice hauled out as FBI evidence, the question is brutal: if a cartel can buy its way into the courtroom, where does the law still hold?