Decatur Man Charged In Major Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

DECATUR, GA — Almost 20 people are facing federal charges — including a Decatur resident — after a 22-count indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Georgia, alleging a major drug trafficking conspiracy.

The indictment, contained in a federal investigation called Operation Snowplow II, charges 16 defendants — which includes Adam Mathias Garcia, also known as Flako, of Decatur — with participating in a widespread, large-scale, cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and charges an additional defendant with trafficking marijuana, said David H. Estes, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Garcia is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Operation Snowplow II comes after a series of indictments in June 2018, charging 14 defendants in Operation Snowplow — a federal investigation into cocaine trafficking and money laundering in the Coastal Georgia area and beyond, according to Estes. The prosecutions in the first investigation prompted the indictments of the 16 defendants in Operation Snowplow II.

Conviction on the conspiracy charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of life. There is no opportunity for parole in the federal system.

“In collaboration with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in the Southern District, we continue to relentlessly pursue those who would gain profit from spreading poison in our communities,” Estes said in a news release. “The indictments in Operation Snowplow II demonstrate the results of that commitment.”

As early as April 2019, the 22-count indictment alleges the 16 defendants coordinated shipments of kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Savannah area for distribution. Authorities also seized 14 firearms during the investigation, which were used to protect the drug trade and its proceeds, according to a FBI news release.

Initial court proceedings have already been held, and all are awaiting further proceedings.

"Criminal indictments contain only charges, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the FBI said in the release.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Pennington II and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Coordinator Marcela C. Mateo and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Ruffini.