Man sentenced to 24 years for drug trafficking

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — A repeat federal offender was sentenced to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking with three children in a vehicle.

This is Harold Vernard Greene, Jr.’s third federal conviction.

In January 2023, Greene was seen meeting with drug couriers in Wilmington. That March, law enforcement watched Greene get a package of cocaine from a drug courier at a Wilmington mall.

Greene then gave the package to his girlfriend, who was in a vehicle with three kids. Law enforcement later searched Greene’s apartment and found phones featuring direct communication with drug traffickers based in Mexico.

“Greene is a frequent-flyer federal felon with direct ties to Mexico based drug traffickers,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “We won’t allow habitual narcotics traffickers to operate in our state and will be relentless in pursuing cases all the way to the foreign supplier.”