Former Division I Football Player and Subsequent Violent Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization, Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Durham man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Aiding and Abetting (Count Three) and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime (Count Four).

According to court documents, Gurbir Singh Grewal, also known as “Gavin,” 23, pleaded guilty to both offenses on September 3, 2020.

The investigation established that from 2017 to May 2018, Grewal was the leader of a conspiracy to distribute marijuana that extended from New York to various locations in North Carolina, including Durham, Raleigh, and Wilmington.

At the time of the conspiracy, Grewal was a scholarship football player at Fordham University.

In May 2018, a confidential source informed agents that Grewal was selling marijuana for $1,800 to $2,000 per pound. The confidential source stated that in total, he had purchased 46 pounds of marijuana from Grewal during at least ten transactions. According to the confidential source, Grewal had a firearm during every transaction.

On May 11, 2018, the confidential source began communicating with Grewal to arrange a controlled purchase of fifteen pounds of marijuana.

On May 12, 2018, agents conducted surveillance of Grewal. That morning, Grewal went to two storage units. Later in the evening, agents saw Grewal leave an apartment on Leigh Road in Durham. Grewal then arrived at the planned meeting location in Raleigh.

Agents arrested Grewal, who was found in possession of fifteen pounds of marijuana and a firearm.

Agents then obtained a search warrant for the apartment in Durham. There, agents seized: an assault rifle with a double-drum magazine, which was loaded; an unloaded shotgun; marijuana; thousands of dollars in United States currency; a money counter; and a drum magazine that would fit the handgun seized from Grewal’s vehicle.   Agents then executed search warrants at the two storage units and seized marijuana and THC vapor liquid cartridges.

Finally, agents obtained warrants to search cell phones in Grewal’s possession. Data in the cell phones showed that Grewal had trafficked more than 300 pounds of marijuana to North Carolina in early 2018.

A witness stated that Grewal regularly used firearms to threaten others, and that Grewal would hold firearms to the heads of others during those threats. The witness also stated that Grewal became angered when a drug customer failed to pay a debt, and Grewal ordered members of the drug trafficking organization to burn down the home of that drug customer. Durham police reports confirmed that the customer’s home had been set on fire and was significantly damaged.

Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Raleigh Police Department, and the Durham Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Lemmon  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-CR-00491-D.