HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WRAL) Federal prosecutors and law enforcement announced a bust Thursday of a drug trafficking ring that funneled more than a thousand pounds of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and other drugs throughout the campuses of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and Appalachian State University.
More than $1.5 million in drug sales were made from 2017 to 2020 by the defendants, according to court records.
Matt Martin, U.S. attorney for the middle district of North Carolina, and Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood expressed surprise and dismay at the amount of narcotics being moved on college campuses and the attitude of those involved.
21 charged in alleged drug ring involving major North Carolina universities By Victoria Albert
December 17, 2020 / 7:36 PM / CBS News
Twenty-one people have been charged in an alleged drug ring that involved multiple fraternities and students at major North Carolina universities, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. The alleged drug ring brought over 1,000 pounds of marijuana, several hundred kilograms of cocaine, and significant quantities of other drugs onto the college campuses over several years, according to the DOJ.
The first person charged in the investigation was Francisco Javier Ochoa, who the DOJ identified as a primary supplier of the narcotics. Court documents allege that Ochoa supplied approximately 200 pounds of marijuana and 2 kilograms of cocaine a week to a cooperating defendant in Orange County, North Carolina. Ochoa pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced in November to 73 months in prison. He was also ordered to
Drug-Dealing Network Alleged at Duke, U.N.C. Chapel Hill and Appalachian State
Prosecutors said current or former students were part of an operation that funneled thousands of pounds of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and other drugs to fraternities and colleges campuses.
The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Prosecutors said cocaine, marijuana and other drugs were bought and sold there.Credit.Brighton McConnell/Chapelboro.com
Dec. 17, 2020
Twenty-one people, including current and former students at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Appalachian State University, have been charged with dealing thousands of pounds of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and other drugs on campus and in fraternity houses, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.
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Updated December 19, 2020 8:56 a.m. EST
By Sarah Krueger, WRAL Durham reporter
Hillsborough, N.C. Two Durham criminal defense attorneys who have tried federal drug cases before say the 21 people charged in connection with a drug trafficking ring at area universities are likely to serve some prison time.
The length of the investigation and the cooperation between federal and local authorities tells Daniel Meier that prosecutors have their evidence buttoned up. They’ve already secured guilty pleas. They’ve already got cooperating witnesses. They’ve been working on this a long time, Meier said. When you get cases from the feds, they tend to be very well-prepared. Their T s are crossed, and their I s are dotted.