Repeat Federal Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 18 Years for Distributing Kilograms of Methamphetamine

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A previously convicted federal drug trafficker was sentenced to 18 years in prison today for trafficking kilogram quantities of methamphetamine throughout Burke and Caldwell Counties, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jeremy Donovan Dula, 38, of Hampton, Georgia, who previously lived in Caldwell County, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release.

On October 22, 2025, Dula pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

"Dula introduced an incredible amount of drugs into our community. 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," said U.S. Attorney Ferguson.

According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, investigators received information that Dula was trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and was using an apartment in Lenoir, North Carolina, as a stash house and to conduct drug sales. During the investigation, Dula sold methamphetamine multiple times to individuals cooperating with law enforcement.

Court records also show that, on November 6, 2023, an undercover agent posing as a drug courier for Dula transported four kilograms of methamphetamine from Georgia to Burke County in a box placed by Dula in the trunk of the undercover agent's vehicle, while Dula followed closely in a separate car. When Dula and the undercover arrived in Burke County, investigators conducted a traffic stop on Dula. Investigators then met with the undercover agent and took possession of the methamphetamine. Inside the box, investigators found four plastic bags containing 3.821 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and one plastic bag containing 28.55 grams of fentanyl.

Investigators also executed a search warrant at Dula's apartment in Lenoir, where they seized a digital scale, multiple plastic bags containing 766.8 grams of pure methamphetamine, and $4,260 in U.S. currency. Over the course of the investigation, Dula was held responsible for trafficking at least 12 kilograms of methamphetamine.

In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Burke County Sheriff's Office, the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, and the Lenoir Police Department for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville was in charge of the prosecution.