Sean P. Costello U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama
Three individuals from Mobile, Alabama, have been convicted by a federal jury for their involvement in a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed cocaine and fentanyl and used minors as couriers. Glennie Antonio McGee, 42, his wife Echandza Dianca Maxie, 43, and his sister-in-law Exavieria Deagnes Maxie, 37, were found guilty after a three-week trial.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that the organization operated between 2017 and 2024. The group sourced cocaine from suppliers connected to cartels in Texas and Mexico. Fentanyl pills were obtained from various sources across Alabama, Florida, Washington, and other locations. The operation involved distributing hundreds of pounds of cocaine and tens of thousands of counterfeit fentanyl pills.
Investigators used wiretap recordings, surveillance footage from cameras installed in vehicles and on poles, text messages, financial records, tax documents, DNA evidence, and more to build their case. According to the evidence shown at trial, proceeds from these illegal activities funded international travel for members of the organization to destinations such as France, Greece, the Maldives, Mexico, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
In December 2022 FBI agents arrested one of McGee’s suppliers after a high-speed chase in Mobile. They seized nearly ten kilograms of cartel-sourced cocaine intended for delivery to McGee. Subsequent searches at McGee’s residence led to further seizures including cash, jewelry valued at over $400,000 (now forfeited), drug paraphernalia such as ledgers and money-counting machines, documents linking them to other conspirators in the network as well as firearms.
During interviews with law enforcement following his arrest in June 2024—after another high-speed chase—McGee admitted he had been dealing bulk cocaine since 2017 with monthly profits around $20,000.
The investigation revealed that children were used multiple times to transport drugs or conceal evidence. In one instance recorded on surveillance equipment in March 2024 at a house on Harvey Court in Mobile—a location described by authorities as a stash house—agents found an eight-year-old boy carrying a backpack filled with several pounds of cocaine; inside the house they also recovered additional drugs and loaded firearms.
Echandza Dianca Maxie was implicated not only for her role in trafficking but also for attempting to hide evidence following arrests within the group. Exavieria Deagnes Maxie was convicted for her part in firearms trafficking conspiracy and tampering with evidence; she previously had been convicted on federal methamphetamine-trafficking charges.
U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer will sentence all three defendants after an upcoming fraud-related trial scheduled for March 2026 involving some of those convicted here; each is presumed innocent regarding those pending charges until proven otherwise.
Glennie Antonio McGee faces up to life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years plus fines up to $20 million dollars. Echandza Dianca Maxie faces similar penalties but with a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years; Exavieria Deagnes Maxie could receive up to twenty years’ imprisonment along with substantial fines.
Property forfeited by court order includes real estate holdings acquired through laundered drug proceeds—including properties rented out via Airbnb—high-end vehicles custom jewelry worth more than $400k (as noted above), money judgments totaling half-a-million dollars as well as all firearms seized during investigations.
Announcing these convictions was U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama: “No quotations provided.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Mobile County Sheriff’s Office among others including local police departments both within Alabama and Houston Texas—with assistance from United States Marshals Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and George May are prosecuting this matter on behalf of federal authorities.
This prosecution forms part of efforts under Executive Order 14159 establishing the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). The HSTF is designed as an interagency initiative targeting criminal cartels foreign gangs transnational organizations human smuggling/trafficking rings operating domestically or abroad—with particular focus placed upon crimes involving children.
