‘Leader of largest meth’ trafficking ring in Carroll County gets 30 years in prison, officials say

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
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A West Georgia man was sentenced Monday for trafficking methamphetamine across the state of Georgia.

Freddie Strickland, 47 of Villa Rica, was sentenced in Carroll County Superior Court, bringing a case stemming from his September 2020 arrest to a close.

Strickland was arrested by agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s West Metro Regional Drug Enforcement Office, while under investigation for distributing meth throughout West Georgia.

He will serve 30 years in prison without parole, plus 60 years of probation once he’s released from prison.

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According to the Coweta County Judicial Circuit District Attorney, 12 cases, including 11 from the GBI investigation, and a 12th case filed by the Carrollton Police Department’s arrest of Strickland.

“In total, all of these cases included 13 counts of Conspiracy to Violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, 13 counts of Illegal Use of a Communications Facility, 5 counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, 2 counts of Trafficking Methamphetamine, and 1 count of Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Distribute,” DA John H. Cranford, Jr. said in a statement.

Strickland pled guilty to all of the charges instead of going to trial, according to officials.

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In addition to the charges from 2020, the DA’s office said Strickland continued to produce methamphetamine.

The DA said more than 20 others were arrested as co-conspirators, with approximately 40 kilograms of meth, multiple firearms, large amounts of cash, and multiple vehicles all being used to prove Strickland was transporting meth across Georgia.

While he was out on bond from his 2020 arrest, the DA said officers from the Carrollton Police Department’s ACE unit executed a search warrant at his home, finding him in a workshop with roughly two kilograms of meth and packing materials in September 2022.

“During Strickland’s guilty plea, Agent Morris testified that Strickland was the leader of the largest Methamphetamine distribution network that has ever been brought to justice in Carroll County,” the DA said in a statement.

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