A Flowery Branch man pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Athens to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from his prison cell.\
Frankie Baza, 33, was charged after he was identified and set up for a confidential source working with Athens-Clarke County police, federal authorities told the Athens Banner-Herald.
Baza faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced May 6 by U.S. District Court Judge Ashley Royal.
Federal authorities announced last week that Athens police developed a source in 2019 who told them that Baza was a source of meth, the newspaper report. While Basa was a state corrections inmate, he connected customers with his allies on the outside, authorities said.
In January 2019, authorities said Baza arranged for a large quantity of meth to be taken to a metro Atlanta motel to be sold. Agents, however, put the location under surveillance and arrested the person with showed up with the drugs. Agents also seized heroin, a cell phone and a shotgun, the newspaper reported.
