Kofi Anash 
A Georgia man who operated an industrial-scale illegal pill-manufacturing operation has admitted to the main charge in a drug trafficking conspiracy, representing the final guilty plea among the defendants.
Walker Christian Forrester, 25, of Loganville, Ga., entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Augusta to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Carfentanil, Alprazolam and marijuana), said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
The charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.
“This drug trafficking conspiracy distributed massive amounts of dangerous illegal drugs, including deadly synthetic opioids, throughout the streets of Georgia and through the Dark Web,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “Our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies did outstanding work in investigating and shutting down these merchants of misery and bringing them to justice, where substantial federal prison terms await.”
Other defendants who have pled guilty in the conspiracy are:
- Kolbie Hadden Watters, 23, of Augusta, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
- Jonathan Britt Lester, 23, of Loganville, Ga.; who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Carfentanil, Alprazolam and marijuana);
- Armand Sananda Saedi, 28, of Atlanta, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Controlled Substances (Alprazolam); and,
- Morgan McKenzie Slaton, 23, of Hoschton, Ga., who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Alprazolam).
According to court documents and testimony, the co-defendants participated in a drug conspiracy dating back to 2016 that imported large amounts of drugs purchased with cryptocurrency on the Dark Web, used industrial-grade machinery to manufacture pills, and sold the drugs on the Dark Web and throughout Georgia. At its peak, the operation produced as many as 200,000 pills per month, yielding profits of up to $18,000 per month.
Forrester first came to the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration around Sept. 2017 after he purchased an industrial-grade pill press. Two months later, Forrester, Watters and a juvenile were arrested on state charges in Harlem, Ga., in November 2017 after a traffic stop in which Harlem police officers found more than 5,200 counterfeit Xanax pills, marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun in the vehicle.
In addition to charges in the drug conspiracy, Watters and Lester also face state charges in Walton County of felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of Chase David Loffler, 25, whose body was found buried in the backyard of Lester’s Loganville home in April 2018. The two are accused of beating and suffocating Loffler, a suspected co-conspirator, and burying his body in a shallow grave.
All six defendants face sentencing at a later date.
