Press Release
Duplin County Man Sentenced to Thirty Years for Decades-Long Drug Trafficking Career
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that in Federal court, BRANDON DUDLEY, a 34-year-old resident of Duplin County, North Carolina, received a thirty (30) year sentence following his conviction before Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. After a three-day trial, a jury found DUDLEY guilty of all counts reflecting his extensive drug trafficking activities throughout Eastern North Carolina. During trial, the prosecution presented evidence of multiple narcotics sales involving DUDLEY, as well as the testimony of individuals who assisted DUDLEY’s operation back to the 1990’s.
Despite serving prison time on various occasions in the North Carolina Department of Corrections, DUDLEY, and those with whom he worked, have continued to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs since 2015. Upon final calculation, the Court held DUDLEY “conservatively responsible” for the following quantities of drugs:
- 20 KG of Crystal Methamphetamine;
- 41 KG of Marijuana;
- 31 KG of Cocaine;
- 15 KG of Crack Cocaine.
In addition to the evidence presented regarding drug trafficking, the Court received extensive testimony that tied DUDLEY to the use of firearms while running the Drug Trafficking Organization. DUDLEY has been linked to multiple, ongoing investigations that involve violence and criminal activity centered on the use, possession and trafficking of firearms.
Mr. Higdon commented: “Brandon Dudley’s sentence represents a just conclusion to a long, thorough investigation into a committed, prolific drug dealer. The Dudley case is part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative, which targets the most dangerous criminals in our communities throughout Eastern North Carolina. With the focused, interconnected efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement, the Dudley drug trafficking organization has been successfully identified, investigated, and is now fully dismantled. Given Brandon Dudley’s years of committed criminal activity and the countless lives affected throughout North Carolina by the drugs and accompanying violence dispensed by his organization, incapacitating Dudley will make all of Eastern North Carolina safer.”
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
The DUDLEY prosecution was a part of the “Fall of the House of Usher” OCDETF Operation that has resulted in the prosecution of dozens of high level drug traffickers, gang and cartel-linked criminals, and the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout Eastern North Carolina and beyond.
The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter. J. Frank Bradsher and J. Bradford Knott prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Updated February 14, 2020
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component