Brunswick man found guilty in Operation Ghost Busted, faces 20 years in prison for drug trafficking

After a climactic two-day jury trial, Blake K. Screen, the latest in a group involved in a large-scale drug trafficking ring, has been found guilty on numerous charges. As noted by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Jill E. Steinberg, Screen, 36, of Brunswick, faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. In an outcome reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, significant financial penalties and supervised release are also likely to follow a prison sentence, with no option for parole within the federal system.

Steinberg hailed the conviction as a “milestone” in the broader investigation, dubbed Operation Ghost Busted, that has linked 76 defendants to the Ghost Face Gangsters and several other criminal street gangs. An indictment unsealed in January 2023 pulled back the curtain on a vast drug distribution network that trafficked methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and alprazolam throughout Greater Glynn County. Screen was one of 76 defendants charged in the case, based on information provided by the Justice Department.

The two-year investigation involved resources and intelligence from the FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force, several Georgia Sheriff’s Offices, and multiple state and local agencies. Task forces combed through a web of communications and discovered that Screen and his associates—from inside and outside Georgia state prisons—managed their illegal drug trafficking operations through text messages and Facebook posts, underscoring the pervasive influence of technology on today’s criminal activities.

During the trial, led by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, evidence revealed Screen’s involvement in the shipment and sale of significant quantities of illegal narcotics. According to the Justice Department, more than 65 doses of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl were found in his possession at the time of his arrest. Of the defendants in Operation Ghost Busted, 70 have already been convicted, four are awaiting sentencing after guilty pleas, and one defendant died before the trial could begin.

Operation Ghost Busted is unprecedented in its district and a testament to the relentless efforts of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program. This multi-agency, intelligence-driven initiative is focused on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling high-threat criminal organizations that threaten the United States. The FBI Coastal Georgia Violent Gang Task Force, multiple Sheriff’s Offices, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were just a few of the agencies involved in taking down this complex drug network.