Two Cocaine Traffickers are Sentenced to Prison
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two Charlotte-based members of a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) were sentenced to prison today for trafficking large quantities of cocaine, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Sheriff Donald G. Brown II of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
Carlos Hernandez Landeiro, 33, and Holly Christine Furlough, 31, both of Charlotte, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. A third co-defendant, Dante Rashaun Ramseur, 44, of Hickory, North Carolina, was previously sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by six years of supervised release.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, law enforcement conducting an investigation into drug trafficking networks in Catawba County determined that Ramseur was distributing significant quantities of cocaine in the Hickory area. Investigators further determined that the cocaine was supplied to Ramseur by Landeiro and Furlough. On February 13, 2023, Landeiro and Furlough attempted to deliver cocaine to Ramseur, which he then intended to sell to an undercover officer. Later that day, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Landeiro and Furlough’s residence. During the search, law enforcement seized 26 kilograms of cocaine, drug paraphernalia to include a vacuum sealer, a money counter, and more than $120,000 in cash drug proceeds. Court records show that the defendants’ residence where the cocaine was seized is next door to a Charlotte high school.
In September 2023, Landeiro and Furlough pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine near a school. They are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
This case was investigated by a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) which includes the DEA, the FBI, and the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov, and www.dea.gov . Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv
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