Lead Defendant in Meth-Trafficking Ring Pleads Guilty

The lead defendant in a Richmond County methamphetamine trafficking ring has pleaded guilty in U.S. District to multiple charges and now awaits sentencing.

Thirty-eight-year-old Magnum Neely of Millen admitted to authorities he was able to direct a high volume of meth distribution, even while behind bars at Dooly State Prison, where he is serving 10 years for violent crime.  Authorities say he had help from three co-conspirators including 45-year-old Patricia Gregory, 39-year-old Fanesia Smith and 57-year-old Yvonne Smith, all of Augusta.

Investigators said Neely used contraband cell phones to contact couriers outside prison to deliver drugs to buyers.

"The ringleader of a once-thriving methamphetamine ring profited by spreading this insidious poison throughout Richmond County and elsewhere, all while serving a prison sentence," said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.  "But DEA and its law enforcement partners are committed to holding criminals accountable, no matter whether they're locked up or on the streets."

Neely faces an additional sentence of 10 years to life in connection with the meth-trafficking ring.