Savannah Standard

A Florida man, Larry B. Taylor, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a significant drug trafficking operation known as Operation Ghost Busted. The operation targeted a network distributing large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs across the Glynn County area in Georgia.

Taylor, aged 59 from Jacksonville, Florida, was among 76 individuals indicted as part of this extensive investigation. He pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. According to U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg for the Southern District of Georgia, "It’s a remarkable illustration of the toll of death and destruction from Larry Taylor’s drug-dealing that overdoses in the Brunswick area plummeted after he and his co-conspirators were taken into custody in January 2023."

The case was presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, who also ordered Taylor to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. The investigation began in response to a rise in overdose deaths starting in 2020.

Operation Ghost Busted exposed a conspiracy involving members of the Ghost Face Gangsters and other gangs trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and alprazolam. Taylor alone distributed over three kilograms of fentanyl—an amount sufficient to lethally affect the entire population of Brunswick.

The collaborative investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force and several local police departments and sheriff's offices. It uncovered connections between drug traffickers operating both inside and outside Georgia prisons and Mexican cartels.

Of those indicted, 73 have received prison sentences up to life imprisonment after pleading guilty. Two defendants are awaiting sentencing while one passed away before trial. Many involved had histories of illegal drug use and frequent arrests.

This case is considered one of the largest drug trafficking prosecutions within the Southern District of Georgia's history under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). This initiative focuses on dismantling high-level criminal organizations through coordinated efforts among various agencies.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland and E. Greg Gilluly Jr., Deputy Chief for the Criminal Division, are prosecuting this case for the United States government.