ATLANTA — A convicted Atlanta drug dealer whose sentence was commuted by the Biden administration is back in jail, accused of getting back into the drug trade.
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Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that Walter Lee Muhammad, 46, appeared in federal court on new drug trafficking charges after investigators allegedly uncovered kilograms of drugs during an investigation spanning Georgia and North Carolina.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, DEA agents were conducting a drug investigation on Aug. 5 when they saw Muhammad loading multiple bags of suspected drugs into a BMW in Atlanta.
Agents followed the vehicle to Greensboro, North Carolina, where deputies with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop. Authorities said a K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs, leading deputies to search the vehicle.
Investigators allegedly found 29 kilograms of suspected cocaine inside the BMW. Muhammad was arrested at the scene.
The following day, DEA agents executed a search warrant at Muhammad’s Midtown Atlanta apartment, where they said they recovered roughly two kilograms of suspected fentanyl and seven kilograms of suspected heroin.
Agents also searched a second property in southwest Atlanta, where authorities said they seized three guns, including a stolen pistol.
“Muhammad is a serial drug trafficker who – despite receiving the extraordinary gift of presidential clemency – continued to deal lethal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Thanks to our law enforcement partners, the community is safer with this repeat offender off the street and back behind bars.”
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DEA Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung said the case highlights the agency’s continued focus on removing fentanyl from communities.
“Despite receiving a second chance, this defendant returned to trafficking fentanyl and putting lives at risk,” Chung said. “The seizure of this significant amount of fentanyl is a reminder that we will continue to hold those who profit from this deadly poison accountable.”
Federal authorities said Muhammad has a lengthy history of drug trafficking convictions dating back more than two decades. Court records show he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1999, conspiracy to distribute marijuana in 2010, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl in 2020.
Muhammad was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for the fentanyl conviction. However, on Dec. 12, 2024, then-President Joe Biden commuted his sentence as part of a sweeping clemency action that reduced the sentences of nearly 1,500 federal inmates.
A federal criminal complaint filed Aug. 7 in the Northern District of Georgia charges Muhammad with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
He appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Greensboro on Thursday and remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending further proceedings. Authorities said he will later appear in federal court in Atlanta.
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