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Michael Hall, 34, of Duplin County, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for charges related to drug trafficking and firearms, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina.

“This conviction is a result of a collaborative effort with law enforcement at the local, state and federal level to get guns and drugs off the streets and make our communities safer,” said Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “We will continue these coordinated and targeted efforts to disrupt the criminal networks in Eastern North Carolina.”

Hall was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine; distribution of 50 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribution of a quantity of heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

According to court documents, evidence presented in court and other documents, on June 7, 2019, a person working at the direction of the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office purchased approximately two ounces of methamphetamine from Hall at his residence.

“Hall had the person come to his residence in Duplin County because he was on probation and wearing an ankle monitor from a prior state felony conviction,” stated the release. “On July 30, 2019, Onslow County Sheriff’s Detectives and ATF received information that Hall was selling narcotics from a hotel room in Onslow County. Law enforcement stopped a vehicle after the driver was observed leaving Hall’s hotel room. The driver was in possession of 13 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm. Law enforcement searched Hall’s hotel room and found a small amount of heroin, digital scales, and a stolen handgun.”

The investigation revealed that Hall was involved in the distribution of more than five kilograms of methamphetamine from July 2018 until the time of his arrest on July 30, 2019, according to the release.

“This is part of operation ‘Fighting Jelly Fish’ which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation,” stated the release. “OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.”

Easley made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Duplin, Onslow and New Hanover County sheriffs’ offices and Kinston Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted.

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