Seventeen Gang Members Arrested in Athens Drug Trafficking Ring; Grenade Launcher, Guns, and Millions in Narcotics Seized
Athens, GA — On Tuesday, August 26, the FBI-Athens Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, working with multiple federal, state, and local agencies, arrested seventeen alleged gang members accused of operating a violent drug trafficking ring responsible for distributing fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other narcotics across Athens and surrounding areas.
Seizures During the Operation
During the raids, investigators uncovered a cache of weapons and drugs, including:
- A grenade launcher seized in Jefferson, Georgia
- 26 firearms, among them 12 rifles
- More than 26 kilograms of cocaine (street value approximately $780,000)
- 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl (street value approximately $60,000)
- 500 grams of methamphetamine
- 5.14 ounces of crack cocaine
- 2.4 pounds of marijuana
- 128 controlled pharmaceuticals
- $63,532 in cash
The combined street value of the drugs and currency is estimated at over $900,000.
Details on Indictments
Two separate indictments, filed earlier this year and unsealed August 26, charge the defendants with conspiracy, drug distribution, firearms violations, and maintaining drug-involved premises.
Several of the accused previously served prison sentences for felony drug convictions.
Case No. 3:25-CR-00010 (filed May 14) charges 10 defendants, including Alicio Yanez-Pineda, 48, of Mexico, identified as a central figure in the network. Yanez-Pineda and others are accused of conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine between January 2024 and May 2025.
Defendants include Josue Serda, Ulises Borja, Travis “Trav” Arnold, Ariel Collins, Patrick Wilkins, Edgar Jara, Tyler Parr, Gregory Robinson, and Deshun Muckle.
Charges range from fentanyl distribution and firearm possession by a felon to maintaining stash houses on Sartain Drive and Essex Court in Athens.
Case No. 3:25-CR-00020 (filed Aug. 12) charges six additional defendants, including Orlando “Lando” Muckle, Bernard “Nard” Walker, Joey Campbell, Lanier “Nier” Cooper, Myles Kolbe “Wop” Cooper, and Tommy Lee Smith.
Prosecutors allege the group conspired to traffic over 400 grams of fentanyl and more than five kilograms of cocaine beginning in October 2020.
Some operated drug distribution hubs on Commerce Parkway and Jennings Mill Parkway in Athens.
Related Criminal Complaint
A newly unsealed complaint charges Halie Marie Money, 26, of Jefferson, with possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user. On June 20, 2025, she and co-defendant Serda were found unconscious in a car outside an Athens Walmart, allegedly with fentanyl, paraphernalia, and a Glock pistol in plain view. A search of Money’s phone revealed text messages about narcotics use and distribution, along with photos of cash, drugs, and firearms.
Nationwide Initiative
The arrests fall under Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at dismantling cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent gangs. The operation in Athens involved 13 agencies, including the FBI, DEA, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department, and sheriff’s offices across Clarke, Fulton, Habersham, Jackson, and Oconee counties.
The defendants are making their initial appearances this week in U.S. Magistrate Court in Macon, Georgia.
