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Maurice “Gotti” Bellamy, 29, of New Hanover County, was sentenced April 23 to 132 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of heroin and distribution of a quantity of heroin, according to a press release from the Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina. Bellamy pleaded guilty to these charges June 4, 2020.

According to court documents and evidence presented in court, on June 11, 2019, Bellamy sold a quantity of heroin to someone working at the direction of law enforcement in Wilmington. The investigation uncovered that Bellamy was involved in the distribution of more than two kilograms of heroin, stated the release.

“According to a civil injunction filed in 2017 against the Folk Nation-720 Gangster Disciples in New Hanover County Superior Court, Bellamy was a member of this gang,” the release continued.

The effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, stated the release: “OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. This OCDETF focuses on a Multi-State Drug Trafficking Organization and Gang Activity that has been responsible for the distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine throughout the United States.”

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after the sentencing before U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wilmington Police Department, Holly Ridge Police Department and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted.

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