An investigation into a Durham-based cocaine and fentanyl trafficking operation began in September 2024, and arrests followed in May 2025. Kevin Johnson was later sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.
Among those sentenced was Kevin Johnson, described by the News & Observer as a central figure in the operation and a former Bull City United violence interrupter. According to that report, Johnson was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison followed by five years of probation.
How Investigators Built the Case Against Johnson
Investigators with the Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force, along with federal and local officers, surveilled Johnson from September 2024 through March 2025 as he sold cocaine and fentanyl, the News & Observer reported. The paper detailed one specific sale in September 2024, when Johnson allegedly sold about three ounces of cocaine to an undercover officer in the parking lot of a Durham pool hall. A federal judge authorized wiretaps on two of Johnson’s phones in March 2025, according to the same reporting.
Those wiretaps led investigators deeper into the supply chain. In April 2025, the wiretap extended to Khuram Choudhry after investigators identified him as Johnson’s main drug source, the News & Observer reported. Federal agents ultimately arrested Choudhry, Johnson and eight others in May 2025 on charges of participating in a conspiracy to distribute lethal drugs in North Carolina.
Drug Seizures
CBS 17 reported that FBI agents discovered 20 kilograms of cocaine they said were destined for another member of the conspiracy, and that Johnson had received a kilogram of fentanyl in early 2025 before the FBI intercepted two additional kilograms he had purchased.
CBS 17 reported that Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing fentanyl, one count of distributing cocaine, and conspiring to distribute both drugs. At least nine others were charged in the ring, the News & Observer reported, including Choudhry. The case is being tracked in federal court records as USA v. Johnson et al., docket number 1:25-cr-00188, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, according to PacerMonitor.
Federal and Local Officials Tout the Takedown
Reid Davis, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina, said the case shows the bureau’s resolve to dismantle networks flooding communities with 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 ten offenders to justice,” Davis said. “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.”
Durham County Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead credited the partnership between agencies for the outcome. “This joint operation demonstrates the power of federal and local law enforcement standing shoulder-to-shoulder,” Birkhead said. “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. Collectively these defendants received more than 6 decades of federal prison time which demonstrates our unwavering commitment to addressing drug trafficking and violent crime to protect everyone in our community.”
Who Else Was Sentenced
Beyond Johnson and Choudhry, eight other defendants received sentences ranging from two to ten years. Jamaal Robertson was sentenced to 66 months, Dwight Chandler to 51 months, Shahzad Khan to 120 months, Jason Chase to 32 months, Jerrel Green to 30 months, Shance Bostic to 36 months, Wendy Rizo-Bodden to 24 months, and Matt Morton to 7 months, according to the FBI Charlotte field office’s account of the case.
The investigation drew on a wide roster of agencies: the FBI Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, the Chapel Hill Police Department, the Durham Police Department, the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations.
North Carolina Overdose Data
Statewide, preliminary data from the North Carolina Division of Public Health estimates that 2,731 North Carolinians, or roughly eight people a day, are suspected to have died of an overdose in 2025, though that figure is not yet final and is not tied specifically to Durham County or this case.
