Operation Snowplow II, Cocaine Trafficking, Georgia 2022

A major blow has been struck against the cocaine trade in Coastal Georgia with the unsealing of a 22-count indictment targeting a large-scale drug trafficking operation.

At least 16 individuals, including Victory Hugo Gallegos, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, are charged with participating in a widespread conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine in the Southern District of Georgia.

According to the indictment, the defendants coordinated shipments of kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Savannah area for distribution as early as April 2019. The investigation also seized 14 firearms used to protect the drug trade and its proceeds.

Conviction on the conspiracy charge carries a statutory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of life. There is no parole in the federal system.

Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes praised the work of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Southern District, saying, "In collaboration with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in the Southern District, we continue to relentlessly pursue those who would gain profit from spreading poison in our communities."

The indictment, part of Operation Snowplow II, follows a series of indictments starting in June 2018 of 14 defendants in Operation Snowplow, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation into cocaine trafficking and money laundering in the Coastal Georgia area and beyond.

Those charged in the indictment, and their charges, include:

Victory Hugo Gallegos, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine

Robert Canseco, 39, of Houston, Texas, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine

Adam Mathias Garcia, a/k/a “Flako,” of Decatur, Ga., Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, two counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

William Richard Moore, a/k/a “Billy,” 43, currently incarcerated at the Chatham County Detention Center, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana

Aubrey Rodriquez Williams, a/k/a “Gab,” Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine

Raphael Samuel Smith, a/k/a “Ray Ray,” 50, of Savannah, charged with various crimes, including Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.

Initial court appearances for the defendants charged in USA v. Gallegos et. al have been held, and all are awaiting further proceedings.

With the indictment unsealed, those charged in Operation Snowplow II are facing serious penalties, including life in prison for their alleged crimes.

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