A previously convicted federal drug trafficker was sentenced to 18 years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine in Burke and Caldwell Counties Thursday.
Jeremy Donovan Dula was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release, according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Dula pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Oct. 22, 2025.
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According to court documents, investigators were tipped off that Dula was using an apartment in Lenoir to store drugs and conduct sales in 2023.
Law enforcement officials began to conduct undercover investigations into Dula, during which court documents say he placed 3.8 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and 28.5 grams of fentanyl in the trunk of an undercover agent’s car to be transported to Burke County. Dula followed closely behind and when they arrived in Burke County, officers pulled him over and took the drugs.
Investigators also searched Dula’s Lenoir apartment and found materials used for distributing drugs, 766.8 grams of methamphetamine and over $4,000 cash.
“Dula introduced an incredible amount of drugs into our community,” U.S. Attorney Ferguson said in a release. “Drug traffickers who bring dangerous drugs into the Western District should know this: you will be identified and prosecuted. We will not allow our communities to be turned into drug markets for poison peddlers.”
