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.
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.
Matthew G.T. Martin, the United States attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said those charged were part of a sophisticated network that fueled a “drug culture” at fraternities and universities in North Carolina. They funneled large amounts of cocaine and marijuana as well as LSD, steroids, Xanax and other drugs into the universities and the surrounding towns over several years, he said, sometimes operating right out of their fraternity houses.
The defendants used encrypted apps and electronic payment methods like Venmo and PayPal and laundered their proceeds, which exceeded $1.5 million, he said.
“This is not a situation where you have single users, where you have a 19-year-old sipping a beer, where you have someone taking a puff of a joint on the back porch of a frat house,” Mr. Martin said at a news conference. “These are 21 hardened drug dealers.”
At least 11 of those charged are believed to be current or former students at Appalachian State, Duke or U.N.C., Mr. Martin’s office said. The other 10 defendants are either not students or investigators are not sure when and where they attended college.
Prosecutors said the investigation had uncovered drug sales at the U.N.C. Chapel Hill chapters of Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi between 2017 and spring 2020.
Prosecutors also charged a member of Delta Chi at Appalachian State, in Boone, N.C., with dealing LSD. No fraternities at Duke have been implicated in court documents, Mr. Martin’s office said.
Mr. Martin said sales were taking place inside fraternity houses, with dealers set up inside their rooms, “poisoning fellow members of their fraternity.”
In one case, a defendant who has been cooperating with investigators described regularly supplying drugs to a Phi Gamma Delta member at U.N.C. Chapel Hill who sold only to other fraternity members, prosecutors said.
The cooperating defendant said he felt safe selling to the fraternity member, Charles Poindexter, because most of the sales took place in the fraternity house, behind closed doors. Drugs were sold for frat parties — with bigger parties requiring more drugs, prosecutors said.
Mr. Poindexter, 23, told investigators that he had bought cocaine, marijuana and MDMA, known as Molly, from the cooperating defendant. And he said that all 22 members of his fraternity pledge class “went in” to buy an ounce of cocaine for spring break in his sophomore year, Mr. Martin’s office said.
Mr. Poindexter was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony, and distribution of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a public or private college or university. A graduate of U.N.C., he has not yet entered a plea but has “great remorse for his actions,” according to his lawyer, David B. Freedman.
“Mr. Poindexter comes from a great family,” Mr. Freedman said. “He has been very cooperative with the process. Unfortunately, when kids go off to college, they live in a bubble, and don’t realize there are real-life consequences to their actions.”
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, the chancellor of U.N.C. Chapel Hill, said the university was “extremely disappointed to learn of these alleged actions on our campus.”
“The university is committed to working with law enforcement to fully understand the involvement of any university individuals or organizations so that disciplinary action can be taken,” he said in a statement. “Although none of the individuals named today are currently enrolled students, we will remain vigilant and continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and address any illegal drug use on our campus.”
Phi Gamma Delta said in a statement that it was “disheartening to learn of the allegations involving our chapter and members at the University of North Carolina.”
“The allegations suggest conduct that violates our laws, policies and values,” the fraternity said, adding that it would cooperate with law enforcement agents and the university. “Such conduct will not be tolerated.”
Mr. Martin’s office said the investigation began several years ago when the Orange County Sheriff’s Office received information about illegal drug sales at U.N.C. Chapel Hill. Ultimately, investigators discovered that people involved had been shipping cocaine through the mail from California and transporting marijuana by car.
A primary supplier, Francisco Javier Ochoa Jr., 27, of Turlock, Calif., was the first person charged in the investigation, prosecutors said. He was indicted in November 2019 on charges that he supplied about 200 pounds of marijuana and two kilograms of cocaine every week to a cooperating defendant in Orange County, N.C.
Mr. Ochoa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana on Nov. 24 and was sentenced to just over six years in prison and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $250,000 forfeiture.
Mr. Ochoa’s lawyer, David B. Smith, declined to comment.
In addition to Mr. Ochoa, seven other defendants have pleaded guilty to at least one charge and are scheduled to be sentenced next year.
Michael Schoenfeld, a Duke spokesman, said the university took the allegations seriously and would cooperate fully with law enforcement agents.
“The use and distribution of narcotics is against the law, it is against our code of conduct, and it endangers the health and safety of our students and community,” Mr. Schoenfeld said in a statement. “Duke will respond accordingly through our disciplinary process.”
Appalachian State said in a statement that it was fully cooperating with the investigation.
“We are committed to providing a safe campus, and will continue our work with education and prevention, as well as utilizing student conduct and law enforcement processes, to do so,” the university said.
Beta Theta Pi said the charges involved one of its members who graduated from U.N.C. last year. It said the fraternity does not tolerate drug use or sales and “will take appropriate action as new information becomes available.”
Kappa Sigma said that its leaders were “greatly concerned” and that “those who violated our standards will be held accountable.”
"network" - Google News
December 18, 2020 at 07:09AM
https://ift.tt/3nwDIp5
Drug-Dealing Network Alleged at Duke, U.N.C. Chapel Hill and Appalachian State - The New York Times
"network" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2v9ojEM
https://ift.tt/2KVQLik
Bagikan Berita Ini
ada 9 permainan poker menarik di AJOQQ :D
ReplyDeleteayo segera bergabung dan dapatkan bonusnya :D
WA : +855969190856