Federal jury convicts Athens traffickers with ties to Mexican cartel
- Classic City News
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
The United States Department of Justice has released the following:
ATHENS, Ga. – A federal jury convicted two Georgia residents for their roles in an armed drug trafficking network linked to a cartel that distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other controlled substances throughout the Athens community, with the Homeland Security Task Force investigation led by FBI resulting in the seizure of more than two dozen firearms.
“This verdict holds these defendants fully accountable for their roles in a cartel-linked criminal
organization that distributed fentanyl and other dangerous drugs in Athens and amassed dozens
of firearms. Both men now face life in prison for their crimes,” said U.S. Attorney William R.
“Will” Keyes. “Through close coordination with a dozen law enforcement agencies, the FBI led
an investigation that successfully removed the deadliest drugs and firearms from criminal
possession, making our neighborhoods safer for everyone.”
“These defendants built a drug trafficking operation that flooded the Athens area with fentanyl,
methamphetamine, and other dangerous narcotics while stockpiling an alarming cache of
firearms,” said Robert Gibbs, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of FBI Atlanta's Athens office.
"The FBI and our partners will continue pursuing the organizations that profit from addiction and
violence, and we will use every available investigative tool to remove these threats from our
communities.”Josue Serda, 26, of Jefferson, Georgia, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute
controlled substances, four counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of distribution of
methamphetamine, one count of distribution of methamphetamine on premises where a person
under 18 was present, and one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled
substance and faces a maximum of life in prison.
Gregory Robinson, 32, of Athens, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute
controlled substances, one count of distribution of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent
to distribute fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, and one count
of maintaining drug involved premises and faces a maximum of life in prison.
A third defendant, Ariel Collins, 32, of Athens, was found not guilty of one count of maintaining
a drug-involved premises.
The trial began on Monday, June 29, and concluded on Wednesday, July 8, before U.S. District
Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III in Athens. Sentencing dates will be determined by the Court.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to the filed indictment, court documents, and statements made in court, FBI led an
investigation beginning in 2024 into Serda and Robinson’s criminal activities distributing fentanyl
and methamphetamine from a Mexican cartel into the Athens community. For example, in
September and October 2024, Serda was recorded distributing fentanyl at least four times.
Serda photographed holding a kilogram of fentanyl (left) and Robinson posing with drug proceeds in Case 3:25-CR-00010 in U.S. v. Serda.
Thirteen enforcement agencies executed search warrants in this case during the early morning
hours of Aug. 26, 2025, including at Serda’s home in Jefferson, Georgia. Serda refused to exit the
home. Serda is a convicted felon and has a history of threatening law enforcement officers. For
instance, on Dec. 18, 2015, Serda was convicted in the Superior Court of Jackson County,
Georgia, for terroristic threats. In that case, Serda threatened a police officer, stating he was going
to contact “his cartel” to come to the officer’s house to “cut [his] family up.”Serda with firearm over a sleeping infant in Case 3:25-CR-00010 in U.S. v Serda.
More recently, Serda was arrested on June 20, 2025, by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office after
he and his girlfriend were found passed out in his vehicle with narcotics paraphernalia in plain
view and a Glock 9mm pistol in the glovebox. Serda’s comments to the deputy during that incident
were captured on video: “You better look up my record bro, I beat police up bro. I been in
prison…I ain’t scared of no police bro.”
During the attempt to arrest Serda on Aug. 26, 2025, his girlfriend told FBI SWAT that Serda was
informing the cartel in Mexico that the FBI was at his residence. Serda made an outgoing
WhatsApp call to his co-defendant and drug supplier in Mexico, Alicio Yanez-Pineda aka
“Cochito,” at 6:06 a.m. on the morning of his arrest. Serda informed Yanez-Pineda that the FBI
was at his home and that the truck scheduled to deliver narcotics to Serda’s home later in the day
should “turn around.”
Serda with a purported grenade launcher in a social media post expressing his loyalty to the cartel in Case 3:25- PCR-00010 in U.S. v Serda.
When he was successfully taken into custody, his residence was searched, and he was found to be
in possession of numerous weapons, including armor piercing ammunition.As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized 26 firearms; 26 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of $780,000; 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $60,000; approximately 500 grams of methamphetamine; 5.14 ounces of crack cocaine; 2.4
pounds of marijuana; 128 controlled pharmaceuticals; and $63,532 in cash.
An additional 14 defendants are federally charged in this case. For more information, please visit:
ring-athens. An indictment and criminal complaint are merely allegations of criminal conduct,
and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond
a reasonable doubt.
This investigation and prosecution are part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative. The
HSTF is a United States government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels,
transnational gangs, and transnational criminal organizations worldwide. This initiative identifies
TCOs engaged in a wide range of criminal schemes that violate federal law, while dismantling
cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks that fuel violence and instability that
threaten the safety and security of the United States and its global partners. It also places a
particular emphasis on criminal offenses involving children and ensures the use of all available
law enforcement tools to prosecute offenders and/or facilitate the removal of criminal aliens from
the United States. Atlanta Wilhelm HSTF is comprised of agents and officers from the ATF,
CGIS, DEA, FBI, ICE-HSI, IRS-CI, DOL-OIG, DSS, USMS, USPIS, and USSS, as well as
numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United
States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
The FBI-Athens Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigated this case in
partnership with FBI-Atlanta, FBI-Birmingham, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia
Department of Community Supervision, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the
Gwinnett County Police Department, the Sandy Springs Police Department, the Clarke County
Sheriff’s Office, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, the
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case for the Government.
