SOURCE: WCTV, WTXL

VALDOSTA – A Valdosta man, Henry Austin II, aka “Poochie,” 49, has been convicted for his role in a major cocaine distribution on October 24.

Austin was notorious for his great crack cooking – known as “one of the best” in the business.

The State Attorney’s office has stated that Austin was convicted on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Cocaine Base after the jury deliberated for one hour. Austin’s cocaine career reportedly went back to the 1990s.

Evidence presented at the three-day trial revealed a cocaine and crack cocaine distribution circuit stretching from Atlanta to parts of South Georgia, including Tifton, Valdosta, Omega, Hahira, Adel, Moultrie, as well as Northern Florida and other nearby communities.

Austin and 18 co-conspirators distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine sold as powder and also manufactured into crack cocaine, according to the State Attorney’s Office. The other suspects implicated have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

“Another major illegal drug ring operating in Georgia has been smashed,” said Charles Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “This office and the law enforcement agencies we work with daily are committed to stopping these destructive drug operations flowing in our state. I applaud the courageous efforts put forth by our law enforcement agencies who are successfully ending illegal drug operations in their communities.”