Twenty-one people, including current and former students at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Appalachian State University, have been charged with dealing thousands of pounds of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and other drugs on campus and in fraternity houses, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. Martin, the United States attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said those charged were part of a sophisticated network that fueled a “drug culture” at fraternities and universities in North Carolina. They funneled large amounts of cocaine and marijuana as well as LSD, steroids, Xanax and other drugs into the universities and the surrounding towns over several years, he said, sometimes operating right out of their fraternity houses. The defendants used encrypted apps and electronic payment methods like Venmo and PayPal and laundered their proceeds, which exceeded $1.5 million, he said. “These are 21 hardened drug dealers.”

Source: New York Times December 18, 2020 00:09 UTC