SUPERIOR COURT
The number of defendants remaining in a 2021 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act case that resulted in the indictments of more than 100 individuals continues to dwindle as pleas are entered in Jones County Superior Court.
Mohamed Lamine Camille-Camara entered a guilty plea Jan. 26 for the charge of trafficking in cocaine and received a sentence of 12 years to serve in prison. He was given credit for time served from Feb. 10, 2021.
The plea was accepted by Chief Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell.
Camille-Camara was indicted April 6, 2021, for three counts of Violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Jan. 26 trafficking plea was the result of plea negotiations with the state.
The involvement of Camille-Camara in the drug case was presented by the state in a 2021 bond hearing.
Jones County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Barron Hall gave testimony that the defendant was connected to the case through Hanad Sayid Abdulrahman, who was believed to be one of the top suppliers in the drug ring.
The investigator said Jones County had surveillance on a residence in Fulton County, Dec. 2, 2020, waiting on the arrival of an Atlanta backup unit to serve a warrant. He said Abdulrahman was outside, but before the unit arrived, two Hispanic males pulled up and went inside with the target.
Hall said, within minutes, Abdulrahman and the two others came out with high-powered weapons and ran to their vehicles as the unit pulled up.
He said Abdulrahman got away, but Camille-Camara’s vehicle was stopped in the parking lot. Hall said two kilos of cocaine, an assault rifle and $60,000 in cash were found, and the suspect was arrested in Fulton County. Hall said Camille Camara was released on bond in Fulton County and was arrested in Stone Mountain by the U.S. Marshals Jan. 20, 2021, on a Jones County warrant.
The RICO case is being prosecuted by John Ragan with the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.
Ragan told the court at the bond hearing that Camille-Camara’s criminal history included the assault of a peace officer in 2014, and while he was out on bond, he was rearrested for trafficking narcotics and weapons charges.
His bond was denied. The RICO case was announced by Jones County Sheriff Butch Reece at an April 7, 2021, press conference surrounded by officers from 13 law enforcement agencies that helped Jones County in the investigation of the case.
JCSO Investigator Crystal Murphy said the investigation into the sale and distribution of heroin and methamphetamine began in June of 2019 with the identification of a supplier in Jones and surrounding counties, Willie Michael Wood Jr., who was a resident of Jones County.
Wood entered his plea Dec. 8, 2022, and received a prison sentence of 20 years to serve for the offense. He received credit for time served from his arrest Jan. 26, 2021.
Seizures during the RICO investigation included four kilograms of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of heroin and quantities of assorted other prescription medications and marijuana.
In addition to the drugs, 14 firearms and over $110,000 in U.S. Currency was also seized. The drugs, firearms and cash covered three tables and were on display during the press conference.
