ROXOBEL – It’s now up to federal officials to decide the fate of an alleged Bertie County drug dealer.

On Tuesday, the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office transported John Henry Foreman, 42, of Roxobel to Raleigh and handed him over to the custody of the U.S. Marshall’s Service. There, Foreman faces an active jail sentence ranging from 5-to-40 years on the charges of possession with the intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base as well as possession with intent to distribute marijuana in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841 (a) (1).

He is now scheduled for a 10 a.m. federal detention hearing on Friday in Raleigh.

Foreman, taken into custody earlier on Tuesday by the Bertie Sheriff’s Narcotics Division with assistance from Capt. George Reed of the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, was originally arrested in September of last year at his residence in Roxobel. He was currently residing at 139 NC 308, Rich Square where he was taken into custody without incident.

&uot;Our investigation revealed that Mr. Foreman was a high level drug dealer in both Bertie and Northampton counties,&uot; said Bertie Sheriff Greg Atkins. &uot;We are very pleased to have these charges taken to the federal level.&uot;

Atkins praised his officers, particularly Narcotics Division Detectives Frank Timberlake and Kenny Gilliam, for the amount of work they placed into this case.

&uot;The easy part comes in making the actual arrest,&uot; the Sheriff noted. &uot;The real work in these type of cases comes in the tremendous amount of man hours and the resources spent before you can even think about obtaining an arrest warrant. There’s more to these type cases than people know. It requires officers who know what they are doing and are able to focus 100 percent on drug enforcement. The citizens of Bertie County are extremely fortunate to have Detectives Timberlake and Gilliam working to make our county safe and take this poison off the streets.&uot;

This procedure began when the Bertie Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Foreman’s former residence on Sept. 10, 2004.

More than 28 grams of crack cocaine were found at the residence during this search.

Foreman was placed on state charges at that time, but after more extensive investigation by Timberlake and Gilliam, they were able to show that Foreman was a major supplier of crack cocaine to the Bertie and Northampton county area.

&uot;This is a substantial arrest in the Town of Roxobel and we hope that it sends a positive message that we will continue to arrest those who choose to sell cocaine in the Bertie County area,&uot; Timberlake said.

He continued, &uot;There are many times when it looks as if law enforcement isn’t taking care of the problem, but just as in this case we are working hard to make your communities a safer place to live. Sometimes it takes longer than others, but we promise we will continue to work hard for you.&uot;