More than 70 people allegedly associated with the Ghost Face Gangsters criminal street gang have been named in a recently unsealed federal indictment that authorities are calling the "largest ever in the Southern District of Georgia."
The 133-page, 118-count indictment, "believed to be the largest ever in the Southern District of Georgia," charges 76 defendants for alleged connections to an extensive drug-trafficking conspiracy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Jan. 11. The indictment is the result of a "massive" investigation. dubbed "Operation Ghost Busted," involving multiple state and federal law enforcement agencies, the DOJ reports.
The 76 defendants are charged "with involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and alprazolam in the greater Glynn County (Ga.) area," David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in the announcement.
More than 70 people were charged in what authorities are calling the largest indictment in Georgia's history.
| Shane T. McCoy/US Marshals/Wikipedia Commons
The charges also include allegations of "multiple deaths from illegal drug overdoses," the report states. Two defendants have been additionally charged with distribution of illegal drugs that caused the overdose deaths of three people, according to the report.
The two-year, multi-agency investigation identified a "sprawling" criminal drug-distribution network in south Georgia, including in state prisons, according to the DOJ. At least one corrections official assisted in the conspiracy, the report states, including collaborating with an alleged conspiracy leader currently serving a life sentence for murder.
Members of white-supremacist street gang Ghost Face Gangsters and of the Aryan Brotherhood, Bloods, and Gangster Disciples are among those named in the conspiracy, the statement reports. The indictment includes the mandatory relinquishment of one vehicle, 43 firearms and $53,000 in cash. More than 35 additional persons face prosecution on state charges as a result of the investigation, the DOJ reports.
The primary conspiracy charge listed in the indictment carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, maximum of up to life, in addition to substantial financial penalties and a period of supervised release that would follow any prison term.
There is no parole in the federal system.
The FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force headed Operation Ghost Busted, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation, according to the report. The Glynn County Police Department, the Brunswick Police Department, the Glynn County Sheriff's Office, and the Camden County Sheriff's Office also assisted in leading the investigation that included multiple other federal and state agencies.
“Operation Ghost Busted demonstrates the focused commitment of law enforcement agencies at all levels in identifying, infiltrating and disrupting drug trafficking networks in our communities,” U.S. Attorney Estes said in the announcement. “We are proud to serve with these professionals in the continuing work to make our neighborhoods safe from illegal gang activity and the violent crime it spawns.”
