AUGUSTA, Ga. – Eight people have been charged in a 13-count federal indictment in a drug trafficking conspiracy that brought large amounts of narcotics from Atlanta for distribution in the Augusta area. The indictments stem from a two-year joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office...

ATLANTA - Francisco Castaneda Rivera has been sentenced to federal prison for transporting 4.24 kilograms of heroin, hidden inside a car battery, from Texas to the Atlanta-area. Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said, “Drug traffickers like Castaneda Rivera often take extreme measures...

Rome, Ga. – Atlanta-area doctor Victor Hanson and former professional football player Sedrick Hodge have been indicted with two other individuals for illegal distribution of prescription drugs, including opioids. “Americans rely on healthcare providers, many of them medical doctors, to use their training to help patients and to ‘do no...

WAYCROSS, Ga. -- Two drug traffickers, including an illegal alien with ties to a Mexican drug cartel, will spend more than a decade in federal prison after sentencing in a methamphetamine conspiracy. Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, a/k/a “Richard Hernandez,” a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani,” 32, of C’daltimairano, Guerroro, Mexico, was sentenced to 135...

ROME, Ga. - Daniel Landa-Duerta, Mauricio Dominguez-Vazquez, and Jorge Armando Avalos-Menera have been arraigned on federal charges related to methamphetamine seized from a conversion laboratory in Dallas, Georgia. “The cocktail of deadly chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine are a recipe for disaster,” said Special Agent in Charge of the DEA...

ATLANTA – Coleman Warnock and Adrian Banks have been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to manufacture and possess phencyclidine, a psychedelic controlled substance commonly known as “PCP” and “angel dust,” with intent to distribute. The concealed drug lab they operated in Fulton County exploded in July 2013, and burned...

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Two heroin traffickers have been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to their roles in a major drug distribution conspiracy. Gary Johnson, aka “G,” 44, of Savannah, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison, while Jamison Lanier, aka “Monica Lewinsky,” 36, also of Savannah, was sentenced...

CHARLESTON, S.C. – United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Dr. Ronald A. Hargrave, 60, of Mt. Pleasant, has been convicted of illegal distribution of controlled substances after a four-day jury trial in federal court in Charleston. Senior United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour of Charleston presided...

FLORENCE, S.C. – United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Leroy Anthony Griffin, 31, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was sentenced to over nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute Oxycodone. Evidence presented to the court showed that...

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Two men have been charged in a four-count federal indictment for the June 2019 shipment of more than 45 pounds of cocaine through the Port of Savannah. Jimmy Alexander Pujols , aka “El Gallo,” 35, and Fausto Mendez Ramos, aka “Rudy Reyes Polanco,” 40, are charged with...