USDOJ says woman who was “key figure” in south Georgia meth trafficking operation sentenced

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia woman who federal officials said was a “key figure” in a “large-scale meth” trafficking operation has been sentenced to almost 30 years in federal prison for her role.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, 26-year-old Rachael P. Byrd of Waverly pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distributing, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg said Byrd “provided a pipeline from an Atlanta methamphetamine supplier to a corrupt prison guard, and the conspiracy’s leader inside prison walls.”

Byrd was charged as part of “Operation Ghost Busted,” a multi-agency effort to disrupt a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Glynn County area. She’s accused of working with a corrupt prison guard to smuggle drugs in, according to the USDOJ.

Previously, Channel 2 Action News reported the leader of the conspiracy, James D. “DG” NeSmith had led the conspiracy while serving a life sentence for murder at Telfair State Prison.

He was charged for the massive drug trafficking operation in Jan. 2023, alongside 25 others as part of “Operation Ghost Busted,” the FBI said previously.

The FBI said it was one of the largest-ever indictments in the state of Georgia.

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According to court records, the USA v. Alvarez indictment described a drug trafficking operation tied to the Ghost Face Gangsters, described as a white supremacist criminal street gang.

The 118-count, 133-page indictment included the seizure of 43 firearms, a vehicle and over $53,000 in cash.

According to justice officials, NeSmith directed the gang-related drug distribution and trafficking from inside the state prison. Federal officials said Byrd was in a relationship with NeSmith.

“Byrd served as a leader in the drug trafficking organization, transporting and distributing multiple kilos of meth from an Atlanta-area supplier to other distributors and street-level dealers in south Georgia. She served as the outside link to her boyfriend, James D. NeSmith, 26, who was an inmate serving a life sentence for murder in Telfair State Prison, relaying his instructions to others in the conspiracy,” officials said. “Byrd also supplied meth to former prison guard Desiree M. Briley, 26, of McRae-Helena, Ga., who smuggled the drugs to NeSmith in prison.”

The case was under investigation for more than two years and was a joint effort between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

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The case itself was tied to several overdose deaths as well as the trafficking operation. Each of the defendants named in the indictment was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of fentanyl, heroin, and alprazolam.

“James NeSmith’s sentence and others in this case represent significant milestones in this effort to dismantle a major drug trafficking operation in south Georgia,” Steinberg said in November when NeSmith was sentenced to a consecutive life sentence. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to disrupt traffickers as they distribute deadly, addictive drugs and endanger the safety of our communities and prison facilities.”

A multi-agency task force made up of multiple federal, state and local agencies spent more than two years identifying a “sprawling drug trafficking network operating in multiple south Georgia counties,” finding that it was operating both inside and outside of Georgia prisons and linked multiple street gangs, including the Aryan Brotherhood, Bloods and the Gangster Disciples.

Federal officials said 70 of the 76 indicted defendants in the case have already been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing following guilty pleas in court.

“Byrd helped to lead a major drug trafficking organization that was responsible for plaguing the streets of our communities with drugs and crime, and she learned the fate for her corruptions,” Will Clarke, Senior Supervisory Resident Agent of FBI Atlanta’s Brunswick Office said. “This significant sentence is the result of the hard work and coordination of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners working to bring illegal drug trafficking to an end in Georgia.”

Byrd was sentenced to 324 months in prison, or 27 years in prison, followed by another five years of supervised release and is not eligible for parole.

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