Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General | https://www.justice.gov/
Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General | https://www.justice.gov/
A man from Goldsboro, North Carolina, has been sentenced to five years in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Arraqib Hardy, 33, who pled guilty on December 16, 2024, will serve an additional two years for committing this offense while on federal supervised release. The prior offenses were related to possessing a stolen firearm and discharging a firearm in a school zone. The total length of his sentence is seven years.
Documents and courtroom statements revealed that Goldsboro police officers had been maintaining surveillance on a local convenience store parking lot suspected of drug activity on June 15, 2023. Officers observed Hardy apparently conducting hand-to-hand drug transactions and subsequently arrested him. A loaded 9mm handgun, marijuana, fentanyl, and $365 were found in his possession.
Hardy was identified by law enforcement as a member of the United Blood Nation gang. He holds prior convictions from 2013 for discharging a weapon into an occupied or moving vehicle.
This case formed part of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is dedicated to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations posing a threat to the United States. It employs an approach led by prosecutors and driven by intelligence, which combines the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Daniel P. Bubar, following the sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in conjunction with the Goldsboro Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo.
Further details and documents regarding the case can be accessed on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina website or on PACER by referencing Case No. 7:23-CR-00120.
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