Chadric Antonio Rhaney, Cocaine Trafficking, Georgia 2024

Atlanta Man Sentenced to 88 Months in Federal Prison for Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

In a major blow to cocaine traffickers in the Waynesboro, Ga., area, Chadric Antonio Rhaney, a/k/a “Chad,” 42, of Powder Springs, Ga., has been sentenced to 88 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Cocaine.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall on April 24, 2024, in the Southern District of Georgia. Rhaney was also ordered to forfeit $68,610 seized during the investigation.

According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, David H. Estes, the success of Operation Washout, the investigation that led to Rhaney’s sentencing, serves as an outstanding example of the value of partnerships between federal, state and local agencies.

Operation Washout, a coordinated effort between the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, developed information about cocaine trafficking from Mexico, through California to Atlanta, and then primarily to distributors in Burke County. Investigators from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office then worked with the DEA to develop the investigation that identified the defendants and led to searches and subsequent seizures of cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, drug trafficking paraphernalia, cash, and more than two dozen firearms.

In addition to Rhaney, who was identified as the source of cocaine coming into the Burke County area from Atlanta, two other defendants have been sentenced and four await sentencing after pleading guilty to related charges in the conspiracy. The final two defendants are awaiting trial, and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“The sentencing of the lead defendant in this case slams the door on a major conspiracy to peddle poison (cocaine) in Burke County and the surrounding area,” said the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division Robert J. Murphy. “DEA and its law enforcement partners are committed to tracking down and bringing to justice those who pollute our neighborhoods with illegal drugs.”

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The investigation, which spanned multiple agencies, including the DEA, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Probation Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the Screven County Sheriff’s Office, the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry W. Syms Jr.

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