VALDOSTA, Ga. — A Valdosta man is one of 48 alleged gang members indicted in federal court recently, accused of conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that included multiple murders, attempted murder and drug crimes, according to court documents.

Indictments handed down in north Georgia and Tennessee federal courts targeted accused members of the Gangster Disciples organization, described in a Department of Justice press release as a national gang active in 24 states with a highly organized structure.

Members and associates were routinely fined, beaten and even murdered for failing to follow the gang’s rules, according to the department.

Jeremiah Covington, a.k.a. “Tre B,” 32, of Valdosta has been named in the indictment.

Court records claim the suspect was “first coordinator” for the Valdosta “count” and was the “region” for the southeast Georgia area, according to the indictment, which was unsealed May 4.

In the Gangster Disciples’ hierarchy, a “first coordinator” is a leader for a “count,” or geographic area, while a “region” is a leader for several “counts,” according to the indictment.

Covington was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and racketeering-murder, according to court documents.

 “It was part of the conspiracy that each defendant agreed that a conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering in the conduct of the affairs of the enterprise,” the indictment says.

The indictment connects the suspect to the distribution of drugs, including heroin, from May 2012 through August 2013. 

Sept. 12, 2013, the suspect and a fellow defendant described as a former “governor” or top leader of the Gangster Disciples carried out at least one fraudulent transaction that resulted in more than $19,900 being deposited into at least one account reportedly controlled by the suspect, say court documents.