A Raleigh firefighter has been charged with selling drugs in and around businesses in Glenwood South and the downtown Raleigh area.
Nicholas Benjamin Banister, 35, was arrested and charged with multiple offenses including trafficking in cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and amphetamines. A woman, Amanda Lee Banister, was also arrested and charged with multiple drug charges.
Alcohol Law Enforcement officers began an investigation into the pair and reportedly bought cocaine, LSD, ketamine and MDMA from the two, according to a news release.
A search warrant of a home on Long Cove Court found:
- 884 grams of cocaine,
- 540 grams of ketamine
- 325 grams of MSMA
- 16 pounds of marijuana
- 13.6 ounces of psilocybin mushrooms,
- 3,383 methamphetamine pills,
- 9,283 Xanax pills,
- 216 dosage units of LSD
- two firearms
- a pill press
- and $69,050
“ALE special agents work to address criminal activity at ABC permitted businesses throughout the state” Bryan House, director of N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, said in the news release.“This investigation into drug dealing around establishments in the Glenwood South and downtown Raleigh areas uncovered the Banisters’ elaborate drug trafficking operation.”