TRION, Georgia (CNN)  -- The Dodge Neon sped down Interstate 40 in eastern Oklahoma, its occupants heading to Phoenix, Arizona, to buy a load of dope. It was May 2005. The couple brought along methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana to help pass the time on the long journey. Paul Faulkner, 83, and his son, Michael Smith, were convicted in a drug smuggling ring in north Georgia. At that moment, Detective Rob Rumble had no clue that the traffic stop he was about to make would launch a years-long drug investigation stretching more than 2,000 miles, from the remote mountains of northwest Georgia all the way down to Mexico.
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10 people, including grandpa, son and grandson, convicted on serious drug charges
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83-year-old former moonshiner gets 20 years; son who led operation gets 9 years
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Attorney: "If the father got a longer sentence, it's because he's a lousy father"
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Authorities say case is a microcosm of what's happening across rural America
He said @placeholder was a "full-time mountain shiner" who could talk moonshine until he was "blue in the face," but knew little about the Mexican marijuana operation.