MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Valdosta man who is a suspect in a federal street gang investigation was arrested Friday in Colquitt County after officers saw him throw suspected methamphetamine from his car.

Police were pursuing a car driven by Robert Simpson after receiving a tip that he was in the area, according to Steve Exum, an FBI Gang Task Force officer with the Moultrie Police Department.

Exum said that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division alerted him that Simpson, “a violent wanted fugitive,” was in the Moultrie area.

The Moultrie-Colquitt County Drug Enforcement Team patrolled looking for Simpson and spotted him at about 10:30 a.m. driving a gold car north on Veterans Parkway North in the area of Rowland Drive, Exum said.

As agents tried to make a traffic stop, “agents observed a firearm and multiple ounces of methamphetamine being tossed out of the window,” he said. “The suspect vehicle’s lane of travel was eventually blocked by an MPD unit where Simpson was taken into custody without incident.”

The pursuit lasted only a short time.

Police closed one north-bound lane for a short time while drug agents cleared and processed the scene, assisted by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

Simpson, 24, 4095 Great North Road, Valdosta, was charged in Colquitt County with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

“The FBI Gang Task Force will be investigating Simpson’s involvement in gang activity and preparing the entire case for federal prosecution,” Exum said.

Simpson was denied bond in an initial hearing at Colquitt County Jail.