A man pleaded guilty Monday to participating in an illegal tobacco trafficking ring operating in Gwinnett County.

Emmanuel Joseph was sentenced to one year of house arrest and four years on probation after he pleaded guilty in Gwinnett Superior Court to possession of cigarettes with counterfeit stamps.

Judge Ronnie K. Batchelor also ordered Joseph to pay restitution of $46,276, the Georgia Attorney General's Office announced. His sentence will be suspended when he pays restitution and returns to India.

A Gwinnett grand jury last week indicted 41 people in connection with the tobacco ring, which was uncovered in a three-year investigation by federal, state and local authorities.

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Thousands of UGA students enjoy during the annual “Frat Beach” party for the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game on St. Simons Island, Friday, November 1, 2024. On the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game, St. Simons Island’s East Beach becomes “Frat Beach,” an open-air party teeming with thousands of highly inebriated college students. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC