Middle Georgia meth trafficking leader sentenced to 35 years imprisonment

MACON, Ga. – The leader of an armed drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing approximately 16 kilograms of methamphetamine into Middle Georgia was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Ontarrio Veal aka “Torrie,” 33, of Warner Robins, was sentenced to serve 420 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self, III on April 4, after he previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Nov. 15, 2022. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Ontarrio Veal brazenly ran an armed criminal organization that pushed a significant amount of methamphetamine into Warner Robins and surrounding communities,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “He is now held to account through the hard work of our prosecutors, working alongside our Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force partners.”

“This investigation deals a fatal blow to a once-thriving ‘meth’ ring,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “With the leader now behind bars for a long time, the citizens of Warner Robins and elsewhere can rest assured that their communities are much safer today thanks to the outstanding case work by DEA and our local law enforcement partners.”

“ATF considers the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force a critical partner in its long-term mission of removing armed gangs, criminals and narcotics traffickers from our communities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division.

“The Warner Robins Police Department is honored to have worked in conjunction with our federal partners through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force which resulted in the outcome of this case,” said Assistant Chief Wayne Fisher, Warner Robins Police Department. “It is through such local, state and federal partnerships that impacts such as these can be realized. It was with great work and effort from the men and women of this task force which resulted in these arrests that will have an immeasurable impact for the good of our shared communities.”

According to documents and other evidence admitted into court, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and Warner Robins Police Department officers investigated Veal’s Warner Robins-based drug trafficking organization from Jan. to June 2020. Law enforcement obtained court orders to intercept the phone calls and text messages from Veal’s and co-defendant Tamara Hall’s cell phones. Agents learned that Veal was a multi-kilogram methamphetamine dealer and surveilled Veal and various co-defendants conducting methamphetamine transactions and traveling to Atlanta to purchase large quantities of methamphetamine.

Veal was taken into custody in June 2020, on a return trip from Atlanta in possession of three kilograms of methamphetamine and a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a 50-round drum magazine. Agents executed search warrants at various locations in Middle Georgia, seizing multiple firearms and ammunition, methamphetamine and more than $100,000 cash. The organization is responsible for distributing more than 16 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Nine additional co-defendants have pleaded guilty and/or been sentenced as a result of this case. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Warner Robins Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes.

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