Two Rockmart men were arrested by local authorities in connection with a major drug bust in Douglas and Cobb Counties.

The men were identified as Gregory Stegall, 45, of 1969 Tolbert Road, Rockmart, and Johnathon Shane Warren, 39, of 716 Prospect Road, Rockmart, according to Polk County Sheriff Kelly McLendon.

Stegall was arrested Aug. 2 and is currently being held in the Polk County Jail on drug charges from Douglas County. Warren was arrested Aug. 7 on a local battery charge and was moved Aug. 9 to Bartow County to face charges there, according to jail records. He will also face drug charges from Douglas County, according to McLendon.

McLendon said officers here were familiar with Stegall and assisted Douglas County in finding and arresting him.

“We participated in a surveillance which eventually resulted in a high speed chase that ended up in Polk,” he said.

McLendon said his officers had been looking for Warren for two months to serve a warrant on the battery charge before he heard that Warren was a suspect in the Douglas County drug case.

A week later, Warren was arrested when Polk officers and members of the U.S. Marshal Service found him in a Hiram motel, he said.

The drug operation, called Operation Freak Nasty, was orchestrated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and involved several local sheriff’s departments.

The result was 35 people arrested, mostly from Douglas County, and agents seizing 66 kilos of cocaine, six pounds of methamphetamine, and $3 million in drug money.

McLendon said such a bust will take a lot of drugs off local streets.

“Anytime you get some dealers in narcotics off the street, it’s good for the community,” he said.