Cartel drug bosses jailed in Georgia

Federal agents dismantled three armed trafficking networks in Middle Georgia, seizing more than 200 kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine alongside dozens of firearms. The multi-agency operation targeted groups linked to Mexican cartels moving narcotics through Athens and surrounding communities.

Josue Serda, 28, of Jefferson, received a life sentence without parole on Thursday. Judge Tilman E. Self III handed down the sentence after a seven-day trial in which a jury convicted Serda of eight federal felonies. These included four counts of fentanyl distribution.

Court records indicate Serda supplied Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación between January 2024 and May 2025. He moved more than seven kilograms of fentanyl and 50 kilograms of methamphetamine. During an FBI SWAT raid on his home on Aug. 26, 2025, Serda called his supplier in Mexico, Alicio Yanez-Pineda, at 6:06 a.m. He warned the supplier of the agents and instructed him to turn an inbound truck around.

Orlando Muckle, 52, of Athens, also received a 30-year federal prison sentence on Thursday. He will serve 10 years of supervised release afterward. The sentence follows a conviction for intent to distribute cocaine tied to the Gulf Cartel. Agents made controlled buys before raiding his stash sites, including a storage apartment on Jennings Mill Parkway and a site on Macon Highway. They seized 26 kilograms of packaged cocaine during searches in July 2025.

Raul Perez-Mondragon, 30, of Queretaro, Mexico, faced four federal indictments before Magistrate Judge Charles Weigle on Thursday. Charges include armed drug trafficking. Investigators found his network hid one-kilogram bricks of meth inside cabbages wrapped in green cellophane. Shipments sometimes contained up to 300 packages. Officers watched him distribute drugs from 123 Deer Creek Court in Athens in November 2025. A subsequent search warrant yielded more than 100 kilograms of meth and multiple guns.

Perez-Mondragon remains detained under a federal immigration hold. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the cases under the Homeland Security Task Force. The coalition includes the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision.

Authorities have not named additional co-conspirators or confirmed if Yanez-Pineda is in custody. Trial dates for Perez-Mondragon have not been released.