Francisco Molina sentenced in South Georgia drug trafficking ring

ALBANY — U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands of Albany sentenced Francisco “Frankie” Molina to 139 months in federal prison Thursday for his role in a South Georgia drug trafficking ring.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia, 41 year-old Molina, from Brownsville, Texas, received the sentence after previously pleading guilty to conspiring with a number of South Georgia residents to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine and 100 kilograms of marijuana.

A 2010 investigation revealed that a package weighing more than 600 pounds, which had originated in Texas and was labeled Agricultural Irrigation Parts, had been delivered to an address in Camilla.

Bills of lading and wire transfer receipts indicated Molina had shipped the 600-pound package and received money via Western Union and Money Gram as payment.

In 2012, court-ordered wire taps revealed Molina and several other sources regularly shipped cocaine and marijuana for distribution in the Mitchell County area.

The court previously accepted guilty pleas and sentenced 18 individuals related to Molina’s case, and two other co-defendants were convicted after a jury trial and subsequently sentenced.

The case was investigated by DEA Columbus RA, the Pelham Police Department, the Thomas County Vice/Narcotics Squad and the Cairo Police Department with the assistance of the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leah McEwen.