William Usher, Methamphetamine Trafficking, North Carolina 2017

WILMINGTON, North Carolina - In a major blow to the region's methamphetamine trade, a 33-year-old Duplin County man has been sentenced to 180 months in prison for his role in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation.

The investigation, code-named Operation Fall of the House of Usher, targeted a multi-state methamphetamine trafficking organization that imported high-purity methamphetamine into Duplin, Sampson, and New Hanover counties.

According to the DEA, the methamphetamine was so pure that some users reportedly consumed heroin to counterbalance its effects. The investigation, which began in early 2017, focused on the shift from local clandestine methamphetamine labs to high-purity methamphetamine produced on a large scale outside North Carolina and smuggled into Eastern North Carolina.

William Usher, 33, of Duplin County, was one of 41 defendants charged in the investigation, 40 of whom have pleaded guilty in federal court. Usher was sentenced to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, distribution of a quantity of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The combined sentence for all 32 defendants sentenced to date is 3,351 months, which equates to an average sentence of 104 months. The organization was responsible for the importation and distribution of more than 50 kilograms of methamphetamine, and a total of 40 firearms and over $400,000 in currency and property have been seized.

The investigation was a joint effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the DEA and FBI task force officers, who partnered with the United States Attorney's Office to develop a strategy to dismantle the organization. The success of this case would not have been possible without these partnerships.

Usher's sentencing is a significant blow to the region's methamphetamine trade and a testament to the dedication and hard work of law enforcement agencies in North Carolina.

In related news, 41 defendants were charged in this investigation, with 40 pleading guilty in federal court, and 32 sentenced to date. One defendant, Brandon Dudley, went to trial and was convicted by a jury, pending sentencing.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/operation-fall-house-usher-helps-dismantle-multi-state-methamphetamine-drug-trafficking