Detectives in Raleigh say a routine arrest opened the door to a major drug bust, after a May search of a storage unit turned up roughly 140 pounds of marijuana and a stash of other illegal drugs.
According to investigators, officers first took Michael Goldblatt into custody with smaller amounts of drugs on him, then later connected him to a storage unit on Atlantic Avenue that was holding the much larger haul.
Raleigh police told WRAL that Goldblatt had about 0.64 pounds of MDMA and roughly six pounds of marijuana at the time of his arrest. When detectives searched the Atlantic Avenue storage unit, they say they recovered around 140 pounds of marijuana along with about three pounds of psilocybin mushrooms.
Goldblatt is now facing a long list of charges: trafficking MDMA and marijuana, conspiracy to traffic marijuana, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver controlled substances, and two counts of felony maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances. Police told the station the investigation is still active and that Goldblatt is due back in court on July 7.
What Those Charges Can Mean
Under North Carolina law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule VI controlled substance, but trafficking rules kick in once the weight crosses certain thresholds. N.C. General Statutes § 90-95 sets out those benchmarks, with more than 10 pounds potentially triggering trafficking charges.
Quantities between 50 and 2,000 pounds are treated as a Class G felony that carries mandatory minimum prison time and steep fines. That framework means a seizure of about 140 pounds falls into a tier that can bring multi-year mandatory penalties if prosecutors secure a conviction.
How This Fits Into Recent Local Busts
Big marijuana seizures are not exactly a rarity in the Triangle right now. Earlier this year, WRAL reported that two men were arrested after an operation at Raleigh-Durham International Airport turned up more than 200 pounds of marijuana, suggesting sizeable shipments are moving through both local streets and transit hubs.
Those kinds of cases have kept law enforcement zeroed in on everything from storage facilities to travel corridors as key pressure points in the local drug trade. Detectives say that is why locations like the Atlantic Avenue storage unit often end up at the center of broader trafficking investigations.
Police say the probe into the storage unit remains open, and more developments, including new court filings or additional arrests, could surface before Goldblatt’s July 7 appearance. This story will be updated as public records and official statements are released.
