A Magnolia man responsible for distributing over six pounds of meth across the eastern part of North Carolina last year has been sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison.

Anthony Wayne Lemmonds, 41, will remain behind federal prison bars for 91 months, to be followed by five years of supervised release. His sentence was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Fox in Wilmington this week.

On Oct. 22, 2008, a federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment against Lemmonds. He pleaded guilty in September 2009 to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture of substance containing methamphetamine.

According to federal authorities, the investigation revealed that Lemmonds was responsible for distributing, and possessing with the intent to distribute, more than 2,800 grams of methamphetamine in eastern North Carolina between early 2008 and the date of his arrest on Sept. 17, 2008.

The case was brought as a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation entitled “Fire Ants,” targeting international and national importers and multi-level distributors of methamphetamine. Federal officials said the organization is responsible for importing and distributing more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine and several kilograms of cocaine into eastern North Carolina since 2005.

To date, a total of 16 people, several from Duplin County, have pleaded guilty as part of the OCDETF operation and been sentenced in federal court.

The investigation is continuing and has involved the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Sheriff’s Offices in Lenoir, Duplin, Pender, Onslow and New Hanover counties, as well as the Beulaville and Wilmington police departments and the N.C. Department of Corrections, have also assisted.

U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding said it was vital to attack meth, its distributors and abusers — and to do so together.

“Methamphetamine continues to plague our communities and poison our streets,” stated Holding. “As such, my office is proud to partner with dedicated law enforcement officers to attack this threat.”

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.