SAVANNAH, Ga. (WRBL) – The final defendant in a Georgia-based drug trafficking ring has been sentenced to federal prison, after being found guilty of dealing methamphetamine and cocaine.

According to officials with the U.S. Attorney Office for the Southern District of Georgia, on March 1, 2022, Donnie Edmonds, also known as “Hotboy”, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison, after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Methamphetamine and Cocaine.

Edmonds will have to serve three years of supervised release after the completion of his prison sentence.

Officials said Edmonds, of Vidalia, was a mid-level drug dealer in the organization. He would buy “crack” cocaine and “ice”-grade methamphetamine from the organization’s primary drug supplier, Deltinaud Toussaint. Edmonds would then resale the drugs he purchased to individual users and street-level drug dealers.

“This drug dealer received a very significant sentence because of his role in the distribution of large quantities of illegal drugs across Middle Georgia,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Atlanta Field Division.

Officials said Edmonds is the last of more than two dozen people to pled guilty in Operation Ace in the Hole.

“Operation Ace in the Hole is an outstanding example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together to target addictive drugs, gang violence and illegal firearms in the Southern District,” said U.S. Attorney David H. Estes.

The operation was initiated in August 2018, in response to increasing levels of gang violence and drug-related activities in the Vidalia-area.

According to investigators, in June 2019, investigators executed search warrants at eight houses used for stashing or distributing illegal drugs in both Atlanta and Vidalia.

During the search, agents seized more than two kilos of cocaine, four kilos of marijuana, half a kilo of methamphetamine, more than two kilos of MDMA (“Ecstasy”), pints of Codeine, 600 grams of Xanax, pill presses, and surveillance equipment.

Agents found the drugs were hidden in such items as children’s backpacks and baby-formula bottles.

In addition to all the drugs, investigators also seized 20 guns. The seized weapons included a fully automatic machine gun and several assault-style rifles.

Agents also found a trove of gang-related documents and nearly $50,000 in cash.

The investigation culminated in a sealed, 61-count federal indictment returned in January 2020 with 26 defendants charged.

Each of those 26 defendants has now pled guilty to felony charges, and all have now been sentenced.

“It is a credit to the meticulous work of these agencies that every single defendant admitted guilt and is being held accountable,” said Estes.