Raleigh Drug Kingpin Brought Down After Years of Flooding Streets With Narcotics
RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh man just got handed what many are calling a life-ending sentence after federal prosecutors proved he was at the center of a massive drug operation poisoning the city.
On December 11, 2025, a federal judge sentenced Akeem Netron Holder Evans, 36, to 600 months — a staggering 50 years — in federal prison for running a large-scale drug trafficking ring that flooded Raleigh streets with cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and marijuana.
Earlier this year, a federal jury found Evans guilty on multiple counts, including drug conspiracy, possession, and intent to distribute, officially branding him the ringleader of an operation investigators say ran for years across Raleigh and surrounding areas.
“This dealer ran a large-scale drug operation, exploited people he trusted, and pumped deadly drugs into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “This sentence, spending the next 50 years in federal prison, makes it crystal clear: if you sell drugs here, we will find you, we will convict you, and you will spend decades behind bars. This Big Shark Bad Boy won’t hurt our families and children for a long time.”
FBI officials echoed that message, saying Evans showed zero remorse while pushing poison into his own community. James C. Barnacle Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, said Evans now has plenty of time behind bars to think about the damage he caused — calling the case a prime example of law enforcement teaming up to dismantle drug-fueled criminal networks.
Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce also weighed in, saying the sentence brings closure to a deeply troubling case and sends a strong message to anyone thinking about dealing deadly substances in the city. He praised the collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies that ultimately brought Evans down.
According to court records, Evans ran his drug empire out of multiple residences, using stash houses, encrypted communication apps, and counter-surveillance tactics in an effort to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. Investigators say the operation was responsible for distributing at least 11 kilograms of cocaine and more than 4.8 kilograms of crack cocaine, along with fentanyl pills and other narcotics.
In a jaw-dropping twist, prosecutors revealed Evans even used personal relationships to expand his operation, convincing his former childhood football coach to help transport kilogram-level quantities of cocaine into the Raleigh area — a move investigators say showed just how far he was willing to go to shield himself.
Raleigh Drug Kingpin Sentenced To Federal Prison
That shield eventually cracked.
During a March 2022 search, law enforcement seized kilograms of cocaine, hundreds of grams of crack, fentanyl pills, marijuana, drug packaging materials, and firearms from locations tied directly to Evans and his co-conspirators.
