Sumter Man Sentenced to Federal Prison After Multi-State Drug Trafficking Investigation

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Seneca Moore, 43, of Sumter was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of methamphetamine.

Evidence presented to the court showed that on July 28, 2020, Moore sold 112 grams of methamphetamine to FBI agents during an undercover operation. The initial meeting took place at Moore's trucking business in Mayesville. Moore later left the location and texted the buyer to meet him in the parking lot of a local gas station where he sold 112 grams of meth with 99 percent purity to the FBI. During the sale, Moore spoke of the prices the meth could be sold for and of other drugs he could provide.

Further information presented to the court revealed that April 28, 2021, Moore conducted a second drug transaction at his trucking business. Law enforcement became aware of this transaction after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI received information that a drug courier was headed to Sumter County from Alamance, N.C. to purchase a large amount of cocaine from Moore at his trucking business. Agents with the FBI contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, who established surveillance in the area. Agents observed the courier arrive at Moore's trucking business in a blue sedan and interact with Moore before leaving the location. DEA and Sumter County reported the information back to North Carolina and the Alamance Narcotics Enforcement Team, NCSBI, and DEA established surveillance in North Carolina and observed the same car arriving back in Alamance County. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office performed a traffic stop on the vehicle and searched the vehicle after a narcotics K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs. Officers found 16.04 kilograms of cocaine in the trunk of the vehicle.

As a condition of Moore's guilty plea, he was required to forfeit his interest in nine properties, 31 items of personal property, including vehicles, and his business inventory. Moore has a prior federal conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Moore to 144 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the FBI Charlotte Field Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Alamance Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Alamance County Sheriff's Office, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, and the Sumter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar Fyall is prosecuting the case.

###