FBI charges 20 Atlanta residents with firearms, drug trafficking
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday charged 20 Atlanta residents, including five members of the GoodFellas criminal street gang and four convicted felons, with federal crimes related to firearms and drug trafficking.
The 20 defendants “have been indicted on federal gun and drug charges, including firearms-trafficking charges arising from the theft of nearly 1,500 guns stolen from shipping facilities in Conley, Georgia and Macon, Georgia,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement on Tuesday.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said, “Gang‑related firearms trafficking and drug trafficking pose a grave threat to our community. Criminal networks that move guns and narcotics fuel violence, undermine neighbourhoods, and endanger innocent lives.”
According to Mr Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court, the GoodFellas is an Atlanta-based gang that primarily recruits members in Atlanta neighbourhoods as well as jails and prisons within Georgia.
“The gang generates money through, among other criminal activities, drug trafficking, robbery, carjacking, fraud, and firearms trafficking. The gang protects its operation, turf, and reputation through violence and threats of violence,” the Department of Justice said.
Richard Bilson, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said, “The sheer amount of stolen guns and drugs these individuals were allegedly dealing with is alarming.”
He added, “The FBI will continue to prioritise investigations like these so that Georgians will be able to live without fear of either themselves or their loved ones becoming a victim of the violence used or drugs peddled by these street gangs and their associates.”
On September 23, 2026, a federal grand jury returned six indictments charging the majority of the 20 defendants with “conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking, conspiracy to commit theft of interstate shipments, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, theft of interstate shipments,” among others.
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