Meth trafficker sentenced to federal prison

STATESBORO, Georgia: A Laurens County man with a checkered criminal history has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing methamphetamine.

Bobby Akins, 55, of Dublin, Georgia, was sentenced to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of more than 50 Grams of Methamphetamine, said Margaret E. "Meg" Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also fined Akins $1,000 and ordered him to serve four years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

"Whether in our largest cities or our smallest communities, we will pursue those who peddle poison in our neighborhoods and send them to prison," said U.S. Attorney Heap. "Deadly drugs like methamphetamine have no safe place in the Southern District of Georgia."

As described in court documents and testimony, investigators identified Akins as a source of illegal drug distribution in the Toombs County area, primarily selling quantities of methamphetamine. During the investigation, and prior to his federal indictment in October 2025, he was arrested for violating probation on state charges of meth trafficking in Montgomery County and confined to serve the remainder of his state prison sentence.

Akins has a long criminal history including multiple convictions on state charges for drug trafficking, and in 2001 was convicted on federal charges in the Southern District of Texas for transporting illegal aliens hidden in a tractor trailer.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Deputy Criminal Chief Marcela C. Mateo and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey L. Scanlon.