Read the original article on the CBS17 News website.
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A drug trafficking ring in Durham has been dismantled following a yearlong joint investigation between the FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, officials said Monday.
According to the FBI, a total of 24.5 kilograms of cocaine and 2.5 kilograms of fentanyl were seized during the investigation, including from a tractor trailer caught in New Mexico.
Ten defendants were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina and convicted as members of the Durham cocaine and fentanyl drug trafficking operation.
The FBI said the defendants were sentenced to federal prison during separate court appearances between Dec. 17, 2025, and July 8, 2026:
- Khuram Choudhry, who was sentenced to 17 years on June 29, 2026
- Kevin Johnson, who was sentenced to 17 years on Feb. 23, 2026
- Shazad Khan, who was sentenced to 10 years on March 2, 2026
- Jamaal Robertson, who was sentenced to five years and six months on Feb. 19, 2026
- Dwight Chandler, who was sentenced to four years and three months on July 8, 2026
- Shance Bostic, who was sentenced to three years on Feb. 25, 2026
- Jason Chase, who was sentenced to two years and four months on March 3, 2026
- Jerrell Green, who was sentenced to two years and six months on March 18, 2026
- Wendy Rizo-Bodden, who was sentenced to two years on Feb. 20, 2026
- Matt Morton, who was sentenced to seven months on Dec. 17, 2025
The federal prison sentences total 61 years and six months, according to the FBI.
“This joint operation demonstrates the power of federal and local law enforcement standing shoulder-to-shoulder,” Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead said in a statement. “I’m proud of the work our investigators do every day in conjunction with the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.
“Taking 10 dangerous drug traffickers off our streets — including repeat violent offenders who put law enforcement lives at risk — makes Durham County safer,” Birkhead continued in his statement. “Collectively, these defendants received more than six decades of federal prison time, which demonstrates our unwavering commitment to addressing drug trafficking and violent crime to protect everyone in our community.”
Reid Davis, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina, said, “This investigation demonstrates the unwavering resolve of the FBI and our partners to dismantle the criminal networks flooding our communities with deadly narcotics.
“Over the course of a year, the FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force executed a coordinated, resource-intensive operation that removed significant quantities of fentanyl and cocaine from the pipeline and brought 10 offenders to justice,” Davis continued in his statement. “These sentences underscore a simple truth: if you traffic drugs in our communities, the FBI will find you, we will dismantle your operation, and you will be held fully accountable.”