AUGUSTA, GA:  A Georgia man who operated an industrial-scale illegal pill-manufacturing operation has admitted to the main charge in a drug trafficking conspiracy, representing the final guilty plea among the defendants.

Walker Christian Forrester, 25, of Loganville, Ga., entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Augusta to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Carfentanil, Alprazolam and marijuana), said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

The charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

“This drug trafficking conspiracy distributed massive amounts of dangerous illegal drugs, including deadly synthetic opioids, throughout the streets of Georgia and through the Dark Web,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “Our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies did outstanding work in investigating and shutting down these merchants of misery and bringing them to justice, where substantial federal prison terms await.”

Other defendants who have pled guilty in the conspiracy are:

Kolbie Hadden Watters, 23, of Augusta, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;  

Jonathan Britt Lester, 23, of Loganville, Ga.; who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Carfentanil, Alprazolam and marijuana);

Armand Sananda Saedi, 28, of Atlanta, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Alprazolam); and,

Morgan McKenzie Slaton, 23, of Hoschton, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Alprazolam).

According to court documents and testimony, the co-defendants participated in a drug conspiracy dating back to 2016 that imported large amounts of drugs purchased with cryptocurrency on the Dark Web, used industrial-grade machinery to manufacture pills, and sold the drugs on the Dark Web and throughout Georgia. At its peak, the operation produced as many as 200,000 pills per month, yielding profits of up to $18,000 per month.

Forrester first came to the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration around Sept. 2017 after he purchased an industrial-grade pill press. Two months later, Forrester, Watters and a juvenile were arrested on state charges in Harlem, Ga., in November 2017 after a traffic stop in which Harlem police officers found more than 5,200 counterfeit Xanax pills, marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the vehicle.

In addition to charges in the drug conspiracy, Watters and Lester also face state charges in Walton County of felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of Chase David Loffler, 25, whose body was found buried in the backyard of Lester’s Loganville home in April 2018. The two are accused of beating and suffocating Loffler, a suspected co-conspirator, and burying his body in a shallow grave.

All six defendants face sentencing at a later date.

 “Addressing the country’s opioid epidemic continues to be one of DEA’s top priorities,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. This defendant ran an industrial illegal pill-manufacturing operation that delivered deadly doses of poison (namely synthetic opioids) to the community. DEA, its law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to deploy every available resource to stop such criminals like this defendant from distributing these dangerous and potentially deadly substances.”

“This case demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies at every level to end an epidemic in our society that is killing our citizens,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The fact that this defendant faces a potential life sentence is an example how serious this crime is and a warning to anyone else who might contemplate doing the same.”

“Dark Web purchases provide a false sense of anonymity to criminals who believe their actions will be invisible to law enforcement. These illegally imported pill presses, producing thousands of counterfeit pills an hour, can wreak havoc on a community,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “These guilty pleas are a testament to the resolve of the entire law enforcement community to combat the opioid crisis and get these dangerous pills off the streets.”

“The illegal manufacture and distribution of opioids can result in overdoses and deaths, fueling the national opioid crisis,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin D. Green, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “The FDA remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle illegal prescription drug manufacturing and distribution networks, including those that import illicit raw materials from overseas to make counterfeit drugs, and misuse the internet to distribute those drugs with reckless disregard of the risk to public health and safety.”

“Criminals need to clearly understand that law enforcement agencies across the globe work together daily to root out crime,” said Christopher Grey, spokesperson for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID). “We share information and continually support each other's investigations. There is no better example of that interagency cooperation than this case and how one piece of information led to more and more evidence to unravel this dangerous drug trafficking conspiracy.”

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the premier U.S. Department of Justice program to dismantle multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organizations. Agencies involved in the investigation include the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command (CID), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Harlem Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Rhodes. 

AUGUSTA, GA:  Four defendants have pled guilty to various roles in a wide-ranging drug conspiracy that included mass production of pills and distribution of powerful synthetic opioids.

The defendants are among six indicted in April on federal charges accusing them of participating in a drug conspiracy dating back to 2016 that imported large amounts of drugs purchased with cryptocurrency on the Dark Web, used industrial-grade machinery to manufacture pills, and sold the drugs on the Dark Web and throughout Georgia, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The cases of two of the defendants are not yet resolved.

Entering guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Augusta are:

Kolbie Hadden Watters, 22, of Augusta, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Watters faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison. He also is under indictment in Walton County, Ga., on state charges of felony murder and aggravated assault of a suspected co-conspirator.

Jonathan Britt Lester, 22, of Loganville, Ga., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Carfentanil, Alprazolam and Marijuana) and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Along with Watters, Lester also is under indictment in Walton County, Ga., on state charges of felony murder and aggravated assault of a suspected co-conspirator.

Armand Sananda Saedi, 27, of Atlanta, Ga., and Morgan McKenzie Slaton, 22, of Hoschton, Ga., have each pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Alprazolam). Each face sentences of up to five years in prison.

Each of the defendants also is subject to fines and penalties, along with supervised release after completion of any prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and testimony, the four were indicted, along with Walker Christian Forrester, 24, of Loganville, Ga., after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Sept. 2017 began an investigation after Forrester’s purchase of an industrial-grade pill press. Two months later, Forrester, Watters and a juvenile were arrested on state charges in Harlem, Ga., after a traffic stop in which Harlem police officers found more than 5,200 counterfeit Xanax pills, marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the vehicle.

The indictment in the case alleges that Forrester purchased equipment used to create counterfeit Xanax pills, Alprazolam as the main ingredient, and binding agents to manufacture tens of thousands of pills per month. The illicit ingredients were purchased on the Dark Web using cryptocurrency, with the counterfeit Xanax likewise sold on the Dark Web or through conventional illegal drug distribution channels. Forrester’s case is still pending.

The conspirators moved their pill presses to various locations in the Southern, Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia to avoid detection, and at one point began manufacturing and selling synthetic heroin using Fentanyl and the more-powerful Carfentanil. Another defendant, Larry Overton, 46, of Harlem, Ga., is charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Using or Maintaining a Drug Premises. His case is still pending.  

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the premier U.S. Department of Justice program to dismantle multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organizations. Agencies involved in the investigation include the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Harlem Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Rhodes. 

AUGUSTA, GA:  Five men and a woman have been indicted in federal court, charged with operating a wide-ranging drug conspiracy that included mass production of pills and possession with intent to distribute a powerful synthetic opioid.

As outlined in the six-count indictment in U.S. District Court and from testimony in court proceedings, six defendants are accused of participating in a drug conspiracy dating back to 2016 that imported large amounts of drugs purchased with cryptocurrency on the Dark Web, used industrial-grade machinery to manufacture pills, and sold the drugs on the Dark Web and throughout Georgia, said Bobby L. Christine, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Two of those charged in the indictment also are charged with felony murder in Walton County, Ga., in the beating and suffocation death of a suspected co-conspirator.

Charged in the indictment are:

Walker Christian Forrester, 24, of Loganville, Ga., and Kolbie Hadden Watters, 22, of Augusta, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances; Using or Maintaining a Drug Premises; Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of an Unregistered Firearm; and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. If convicted on all charges, the two face sentences of up to life in prison.

Larry Overton, 46, of Harlem, Ga., charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Using or Maintaining a Drug Premises. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Jonathan Britt Lester, 22, of Loganville, Ga.; Armand Sananda Saedi, 27, of Atlanta, Ga., and Morgan McKenzie Slaton, 22, of Hoschton, Ga., each are charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and if convicted each face sentences of up to five years in prison.

 

Each of the defendants, if convicted, also would be subject to substantial fines and terms of supervised release after completion of any prison sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to the indictment, and from testimony delivered in court proceedings, Forrester first came to the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration around Sept. 2017 after he purchased an industrial-grade pill press. Two months later, Forrester, Watters and a juvenile were arrested on state charges in Harlem, Ga., in November 2017 after a traffic stop in which Harlem police officers found more than 5,200 counterfeit Xanax pills, marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the vehicle.

In addition to pill presses, investigators allege Forrester also purchased punch dies used to create counterfeit Xanax pills, Alprazolam as the main ingredient, and binding agents to manufacture tens of thousands of pills per month. The illicit ingredients were purchased on the Dark Web using cryptocurrency, with the counterfeit Xanax likewise sold on the Dark Web or through conventional illegal drug distribution channels.

The conspirators moved the four pill presses to various locations in the Southern, Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia to avoid detection, and at one point began manufacturing and selling synthetic heroin using Fentanyl and the more-powerful Carfentanil. Overton, who is alleged to have housed one of the pill presses at his Harlem home in return for drugs, was briefly hospitalized during the investigation after overdosing on the synthetic opioids.   

In addition to charges in the drug conspiracy, Watters and Lester also face state charges in Walton County of felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of Chase David Loffler, 25, whose body was found buried in the backyard of Lester’s Loganville home in April 2018. The two are accused of beating and suffocating Loffler, a suspected co-conspirator, and burying his body in a shallow grave.  

“This case highlights the growing threat of drug trafficking and its associated violent crime fueled by cyber technology,” said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “Our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies will continue to overcome these challenges, however, and bring to justice anyone who would distribute poison in our communities.”

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Drug Enforcement Administration Office stated, “Synthetic opioids, Fentanyl and counterfeit pills continue to be a threat in our communities, and DEA is committed to working with all our law enforcement partners in targeting organizations and individuals that produce and distribute this poison.”  

“Opioid abuse is a crisis in our communities and we will continue to be committed to targeting those who compound the problem,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This case is an example of what can be accomplished when federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and their resources are combined to fight this national trend.”

“Illegal opioid production and distribution, whether online or through conventional drug distribution methods, is contributing to the public health emergency of the opioid addiction crisis that has ripped apart families and communities,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, Food and Drug Administration Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. “The FDA will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who threaten the health and safety of Americans consumers.”

“American communities are being ravaged by a steady influx of illegal and deadly narcotics smuggled into the U.S.; chief amongst them heroin and the synthetic opioid fentanyl,” said HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “HSI is firmly committed to targeting the illegal import and sale of opioids, following the money trails, and leveraging our transnational partnerships to stop criminal networks and prevent the opioid crisis from spreading.”

“This is just a small piece of the puzzle in a growing opioid and pill mill problem in the state of Georgia. This scheme involved cryptocurrency and the Dark Web. It also involved other alleged criminal activity touching all three judicial districts within Georgia as those involved showed the lengths they were willing to go to commit various crimes,” said Thomas J. Holloman, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigations for the Atlanta Field Office. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in following the money in an effort to dismantle illegal pill mill operations in our state.”

An indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises. Agencies involved in the investigation include the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Harlem Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant United States Attorney Patricia Rhodes.