Two Georgians Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl from China

ATHENS, Ga. - A Georgia inmate and a co-conspirator were sentenced to federal prison today for trafficking fentanyl and a synthetic designer drug from China into the state resulting from a Homeland Security Task Force investigation led by FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

"The defendants took part in an international drug trafficking scheme from behind bars, moving fentanyl and other dangerous drugs from China into Southwest Georgia," said U.S. Attorney William R. "Will" Keyes. "Our office, in collaboration with law enforcement, is dedicated to dismantling criminal organizations, whether they operate from prisons or across borders."

"These defendants profited from the opioid epidemic and endangered thousands of lives by trafficking fentanyl," said Robert Gibbs, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of FBI Atlanta's Athens office. "Disrupting the manufacturers and distributers of this poison remains a high priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners."

"The defendants of this fentanyl trafficking ring will spend a significant time behind bars and will no longer be able to plague our communities with this dangerous drug," said Inspector in Charge Rodney Hopkins of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. "Postal Inspectors will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to dismantle criminal organizations that utilize the mail system for criminal misuse."

Devito Duran Young, aka "Big" aka "Big Man," 45, of Macon State Prison and Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 327 months in prison to be followed by eight years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance on April 1.

Trace Davrin Works, 29, of Mableton, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 262 months in prison to be followed by eight years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl on April 1.

The following co-conspirators pleaded guilty on April 15 and will be sentenced on August 6:

Andreaus Benard Oliver Sr., aka "Doomie Oliver," 43, of Cordele, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Andreaus Benard Oliver Jr., aka "Dray Oliver," 27, of Cordele, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance on April 15 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Two co-conspirators were charged by a federal indictment returned on May 14, 2025, and unsealed on August 7, 2025, and remain at-large:

Xin Wang, 28, of China, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and she faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a $5 million fine for the fentanyl charge and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance charge; and

Gao Yong, 29, of China, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. District Judge Tilman E. "Tripp" Self III is presiding over the case. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Young conspired to acquire and distribute fentanyl and synthetic cannabinoids (marijuana) from China to the United States beginning in 2023. At the time, Young was an inmate at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Georgia, and Oliver Sr. was incarcerated at the Macon Transitional Center located on the prison campus.

The shipments of the synthetic cannabinoids arrived at an address occupied by Oliver Jr. on 4th Avenue in Cordele. Wang and Yong are alleged to have facilitated the sale and distribution of the synthetic controlled substances from China to customers around the world, including to Oliver Sr. and Young.

Online advertisement of drugs for sale; this evidence was admitted as part of the forfeiture proceedings.

While in prison, Young placed multiple orders of fentanyl using encrypted chat applications he accessed using a contraband cellphone. Young directed Works to acquire the fentanyl and ship it to customer addresses, including addresses in the Middle District of Georgia, and both Young and Works paid for the drugs with cryptocurrency.

Oliver Jr. and other co-conspirators placed multiple orders for synthetic cannabinoids from Wang and Yong online and paid them with cryptocurrency, directing the packages to addresses in Cordele and his 4th Avenue residence, referred to as the "lab."

After a package originating from China was intercepted by law enforcement, agents executed a search warrant at Oliver Jr.'s residence on July 22, 2024, and found more than 175 metal pans with sheets of paper; multiple jugs and bottles containing suspected cannabinoids; several measuring beakers; more than 350 dried sheets of paper soaked with cannabinoids; return address labels purporting to be from various attorneys; shipping labels addressed to inmates in jail and prison facilities around the country; cash; and ledgers indicating how many sheets had been processed. In addition, $170,000 in cryptocurrency was seized and forfeited from Wang as part of the investigation.

Interior of Oliver Jr.'s residence which served as an illegal drug conversion lab. This image shows papers soaked in pans with synthetic cannabinoid liquid. This photo was admitted during the criminal proceedings.

Young and Works are being held accountable for trafficking 2,610 fentanyl pills weighing 279.64 grams and Young is being held accountable for trafficking 5,502.55 grams of MDMB-4en-PINACA, a new synthetic cannabinoid.

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.

FBI and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated the case, with assistance from the GBI and Georgia Department of Corrections.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Peach is prosecuting the case for the Government.