A Georgia man has been sentenced in a case involving the trafficking of meth into Burke, Catawba and surrounding Counties.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced 44-year-old Alfonso Roman Brito of Moreland, Georgia to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine. The announcement was made Friday (August 4) by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Sheriff Banks Hinceman of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff Don Brown of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office were among the law enforcement officials joining U.S. Attorney King in making Friday’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and evidence introduced at Brito’s trial, in 2019, law enforcement were conducting an investigation into a Drug Trafficking Organization operating in Catawba and Burke Counties and surrounding communities. As trial evidence established, the investigation determined that Brito, who was an inmate in the Georgia Department of Corrections, was in charge of coordinating the shipment of multiple kilograms of meth from Atlanta into Western North Carolina.

According to information presented at trial, between 2019 and 2021, Brito orchestrated the delivery of more than 100 kilograms of meth from Georgia to North Carolina, which was then sold to drug networks in the area for local distribution.

In December 2022, a federal jury convicted Brito of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. Six co-defendants have also been sentenced for drug related offenses in connection with this case.

In making Friday’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended several agencies including the Burke and Catawba County Sheriff’s Offices for leading the investigation. U.S. Attorney King also thanked the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, the Newton Police Department, the Hickory Police Department, and the Georgia Department of Corrections for their assistance in the investigation.