ATHENS, Ga. – U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes today announced the unsealing of two federal indictments and one criminal complaint charging a total of 17 people allegedly involved in an armed drug trafficking network accused of distributing fentanyl, cocaine and other controlled substances in the Athens community, with more...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Torrey Lane Hodsden, 28, of Asheville, was sentenced to 300 months in prison yesterday followed by five years of supervised release for using a gun in furtherance of drug trafficking and other charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jae W...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies seized 156 pounds of fentanyl during a criminal investigation, which is believed to be the largest seizure of fentanyl in state history. The seizure resulted in multiple arrests and was first announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Drug Enforcement...

RALEIGH, N.C. – Daniel Oswaldo Santos-Soto, age 25, was sentenced to 130 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Santos-Soto pleaded guilty to the charges on April 14, 2025. According to court records and evidence...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Asheville has returned multiple indictments, charging several individuals with criminal charges that include unlawful firearm possession, straw purchasing of firearms, and trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “Protecting our communities from drugs...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bryan Torres, 24, of Cherryville, N.C., was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and four years of supervised release on drug and gun charges, announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. According to court documents and court proceedings, between...

FLORENCE, S.C. — Raul Perales Guzman, 38, of San Luis, Mexico, was sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and distribution of fentanyl. Evidence presented to the court showed that in June 2023, agents with the Drug Enforcement...

RALEIGH , N.C. – Timothy Mark Blackmon, a 29-year-old resident of Burgaw, has been sentenced to 198 months in prison for possessing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl with the intent to distribute them in the Wilmington area. The counterfeit pills were made to look like a variety of prescription drugs...

ELIZABETH CITY , N.C. – A Tarboro man was sentenced to 96 months in prison for armed drug trafficking. On March 5, 2024, Drako Butler, age 35, pled guilty to the charges. “Narcotics, guns, and money are a recipe for disaster,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “This Tarboro drug trafficker...

RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, United States Attorney Michael Easley announced that over the course of 2023, his office prosecuted 281 illegal firearm offenders resulting in the forfeiture of at least 249 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are criminally forfeited are removed from the possession of a...