Albert Abdalla, Cocaine Conspiracy, North Carolina 2017

A major blow has been dealt to North Carolina's drug trade with the sentencing of two notorious cocaine traffickers.

RALEIGH, NC - Albert Abdalla, a 45-year-old Durham resident, and Brian Keith Gonzales, a 38-year-old from San Antonio, TX, have been sentenced to 144 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

On July 18, 2017, United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle handed down the sentence in federal court. Abdalla and Gonzales had pled guilty to the charge on December 30, 2016, and January 4, 2017, respectively.

An investigation by agents of DEA-Raleigh and DEA-San Antonio identified Gonzales as a Texas-based cocaine source of supply for Abdalla, a drug trafficker in the Raleigh/Durham area. On September 14, 2016, Gonzales traveled to Raleigh, NC, in order to facilitate a 30-kilogram cocaine delivery to Abdalla.

On September 15, 2016, agents arrested Gonzales when he met with an undercover agent posing as a courier for a cocaine source of supply. Agents seized $210,030 from Gonzales, which he had received from Abdalla to use as a down payment for the 30 kilograms of cocaine. Agents arrested Abdalla shortly thereafter with $4,000.

Agents searched Abdalla's apartments in Raleigh and Durham, and seized 1 kilogram of cocaine, 500 grams of heroin, and $37,472. Further investigation led to the seizures of 8 kilograms of cocaine in Wake County and 1 kilogram of cocaine in Mecklenburg County.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Raleigh and San Antonio, TX, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office, the Greenville Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Wilson Police Department, the Rocky Mount Police Department, the Nash County Sheriff's Office, the Goldsboro Police Department, the Raleigh Police Department, and the Person County Sheriff's Office.

The federal prosecution was handled by Special Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Perry. Mr. Perry is a prosecutor with the Pitt County District Attorney's Office. Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb has assigned Mr. Perry to the United States Attorney's Office, pursuant to funding provided by the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, to prosecute federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force criminal matters.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/drug-traffickers-sentenced-12-years