UNC's Kappa Sigma Fraternity Loses House Over Drug Bust

The Alpha Mu Chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at UNC has been notified that its lease on campus will be terminated after the fraternity was involved in a large-scale drug ring that was busted by federal authorities.

In December, federal authorities announced that members of UNC’s Kappa Sigma fraternity were among 21 people that were guilty of trafficking drugs across North Carolina — with chapters at UNC acting as focal points of operations.

In response, UNC suspended the three fraternities involved in the drug ring — Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi.

Now, the house at 204 West Cameron Avenue that formerly belonged to Kappa Sigma must be surrendered to the Alpha Mu Housing Foundation, a non-profit corporation that owns the property. Several media outlets report the lease will now end on Monday, January 18.

“Based on the very serious allegations against the Chapter and the actions of the University and Fraternity, the Foundation has no choice but to terminate the Lease, effective immediately,” wrote Benjamin Cone, III, president of the Alpha Mu Housing Foundation, in a letter to the UNC Chapter.

The culture in Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi was described as “pervasive” by federal authorities.

Cooperating defendants revealed in court documents fraternity members were often either targeted by dealers or dealt directly from the chapters’ houses. The main supplier for the drug ring, a California resident charged in 2018 by the federal government, reportedly sent hundreds of pounds of marijuana and several kilos of cocaine to Orange County on a weekly basis.

A defendant in the case described distributing several narcotics and cocaine to members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, who would sometimes sell the drugs from their rooms and during fraternity functions.

Overall, more than $1.5 million in drugs has been reported as sold during the period between 2017 and 2020.

Of the 21 people currently facing charges, most carry a minimum of five to 10 years in prison, with some charges ranging from 40 years to life. Individual charges are determined based on the quantity of drugs moved. All defendants will be tried in federal courts located in Greensboro and Winston Salem.

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UNC’s Kappa Sigma Fraternity Loses House Over Drug Bust

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