RALEIGH — A physics professor who may be released soon from prison in Argentina where he’s serving a sentence on drug charges has been fired by UNC.

The News & Observer reported Chancellor Carol Folt fired 70-year-old Paul Frampton, whom drug agents arrested in 2012 at the Buenos Aires airport. The newspaper filed a public records request to get a copy of the letter firing Frampton.

The letter shows Folt fired Frampton for misconduct and neglect of duty.

Frampton has said he unknowingly carried 4 pounds of cocaine hidden in a suitcase from Bolivia while on a quest to meet a famous bikini model.

His friends told the newspaper that they expect him to return to the United States soon.