He had over $50,000 cash in a drug bust, his drug plug was in Atlanta
Zachery Rice, 35, was sentenced to 342 months in prison on May 22, 2025 in Charlotte, NC for his role in a drug trafficking ring that distributed many kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs. Follow our new Instagram page.
The drugs were sold in Asheville, Charlotte, and surrounding areas. From 2021 to 2023, Rice was a major distributor of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania counties.
He obtained the drugs from a supplier in Atlanta and transported them back to Western North Carolina for further distribution through a local network of traffickers and dealers.
During one trip in 2022, law enforcement stopped and searched Rice’s vehicle, seizing over 11.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, a .40 caliber pistol modified to fully automatic with a machine gun conversion device known as a “Glock switch,” and more than $32,683 in cash. Rice was arrested on drug trafficking charges.
Investigators later executed search warrants at stash houses and a storage unit used by Rice, recovering kilogram quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine, multiple firearms, including high capacity magazines ammunition, digital scales, drug paraphernalia used for drug distribution, and more than $27,470.
Rice pleaded guilty on October 18, 2024, to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a machine gun. In May 2025 Rice was sentenced to over 28 years in prison.
