ATLANTA — Six individuals have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking operation that brought massive quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl into the metro Atlanta area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Sentences ranged from just over four years to more than 12 years, following a series of guilty pleas in the multi-agency investigation.

Among those sentenced:

• Juventino Rodriguez received 54 months for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
• Garcia-Picasso was sentenced to 12.5 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
• Pacheco-Carranza received six years for a similar methamphetamine charge.
• Chamorro-Valencia and Hedgarciney Gameno-Cortez each received eight years for trafficking meth and cocaine.
• Erik Josue Rosales-Lopez was sentenced to seven years for possession and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Federal investigators determined the group was part of a coordinated drug trafficking organization that smuggled liquid methamphetamine across the U.S.-Mexico border, converted it to crystal form, and distributed it throughout metro Atlanta. Prosecutors also uncovered evidence that the traffickers sold deadly fentanyl in the region.

“These drug traffickers endangered countless lives by distributing large quantities of deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated on the investigation, which led to the disruption of a major narcotics pipeline into Georgia.

Federal officials say the coordinated effort helped dismantle a trafficking pipeline that posed a serious threat to public health and safety across the region.

WSBs Ashley Simmons contributed to this story