Seven defendants from the Vidalia area are accused of participating in a major drug trafficking conspiracy in an indictment unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Statesboro.

The investigation in Operation Ace in the Hole II, under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, targeted the distribution of heroin and fentanyl-tainted heroin in the Vidalia and greater Toombs County area, said David H. Estes, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Each of the defendants is charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin, Eutylone (bath salts), Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine, a charge that carries a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The availability of deadly fentanyl and its chemical analogues has led to an alarming rise in overdoses and overdose deaths in the Southern District and throughout the nation,” Estes said. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to seek the sources of these illegal drugs and bring their dealers to justice.”

After the federal indictment of 26 defendants in January 2020 in Operation Ace in the Hole, investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office and others, continued seeking sources and suppliers of heroin and other illegal drugs throughout the Vidalia area. Operation Ace in the Hole II, as outlined in USA v. Page, et al., charges seven defendants as participants in the drug trafficking conspiracy. The indictment, returned in May 2021 by a U.S. District Court Grand Jury, was unsealed Tuesday.

Those named in the indictment, and their charges, include:

Creg Antonio Page, 45, an inmate at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; Distribution of Heroin; two counts of Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine; and three counts of Use of Communications Facility, a charge that describes using telephones to facilitate the drug-trafficking conspiracy;

Phillip Adams, 36, of Lyons, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; Distribution of Heroin; Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl; Distribution of Heroin; Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine and Methamphetamine; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;

Servontae Quarshawn Powell, 37, of Vidalia, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; Distribution of Heroin; three counts of Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl; and Distribution of Fentanyl;

Debra Carol Strickland, 20, of Lyons, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; Distribution of Heroin; Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl; Distribution of Heroin; Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine and Methamphetamine; and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;

Cameron Earl Williamson, 33, of Lyons, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; and three counts of Use of Communications Facility;

Erika Susan Highsmith, a/k/a Erika Susan Barrow, 28, of Lyons, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; and Use of Communications Facility; and,

Tiffany Hunt, 40, of Vidalia, charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Heroin, Eutylone, Fentanyl, and Methamphetamine; and Use of Communication Facility.

In addition to drugs seized during the investigation, the indictment also includes the seizure of six firearms.

Initial court appearances for all defendants were held.

Of the 26 defendants in Operation Ace in the Hole, 23 have entered guilty pleas; 17 of them have been sentenced, with terms of up to 188 months in prison. Three defendants are awaiting trial.

Operation Ace in the Hole II is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, the Vidalia Police Department, and the Lyons Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph McCool and Noah J. Abrams.