ANNISTON, Ala. (WIAT) — The leader of a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy based in Calhoun County was sentenced to 31 years in prison by a federal judge Thursday, U.S. attorney Prim Escalona announced.
Antonio Franchester Orr, otherwise known as “Lil T” or “Tony,” was sentenced after he plead guilty to multiple charges in January. The 47-year-old from Eastaboga plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and guilty.
Orr also plead guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine and attempt to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. The other charge he plead guilty to was 55 counts of use of a telephone to commit a drug trafficking crime.
According to the plea agreement, Orr coordinated with a Mexican supply source and used a broker out of an Alabama state prison to obtain methamphetamine and other controlled substances and distributed them in the Calhoun County area. Plea documents mention Orr was responsible for possessing or attempting to possess over 30 kilograms of methamphetamine and overseeing the distribution of various other substances including cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Agents seized over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, one gram of cocaine, multiple firearms and bulk currency from Orr and other members of his drug trafficking organization.
“Armed drug traffickers will go to extreme lengths to profit from deadly drugs with no regard to the pain and devastation they cause our communities, and we will not tolerate it,” Escalona said in a release. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target individuals who illegally possess firearms and push illegal and dangerous drugs in our communities.”
Eleven defendants have plead guilty to charges in the indictment returned in July. The indictment was a result of a year-long Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. Six of those defendants have been sentenced. The other five await sentencing.
