Agents returned to Raleigh firefighter’s home and found $145K, more drugs in air vent
Days after state agents found a Raleigh firefighter’s stash of illegal drugs at his and his wife’s home, they returned to the address and found nearly $145,000 in cash and 950 LSD tabs, according to recently released court documents.
On May 15, state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents arrested Nicholas Benjamin Banister and his wife, Amanda, on a long list of drug charges, including trafficking cocaine, LSD and ecstasy they allegedly sold in the Glenwood South and downtown Raleigh areas.
Nicholas Banister faces about 46 drug charges and his wife faces 27, according to the Wake County jail website.
Since their arrest, the two have been held at the Wake County Detention Center after a judge set their bail at $4 million.
Banister, 35, a senior firefighter who had worked for the city of Raleigh since 2013, no longer works for the city, spokesperson Julia Milstead wrote in an email Monday. His last day of employment was May 28.
N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement agents began investigating the couple after a “spontaneous source of information” provided a “menu” of drugs that Nicholas Banister advertised for sale, including, cocaine, ketamine, LSD tabs and microdose spray, according to court documents related to the two searches of the Banisters’ home.
That same source gave Banister contact information for someone interested in buying drugs. Banister contacted that person, who was working with ALE as an undercover agent or a confidential informant. Court documents don’t say which.
Meeting at downtown Raleigh food hall
Banister contacted and met with the undercover buyer at Morgan Street Food Hall in downtown Raleigh on April 18, according to court documents. The ALE buyer paid $400 for 3.5 grams of cocaine and a gram of ketamine, an anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. Ketamine was tied to actor Matthew Perry’s October death.
Amanda Banister remained in the couple’s 2000 Toyota 4Runner. Banister indicated that his wife was his “assistant” and helped him package the drugs, the court documents state.
On May 1 the buyer used audio and video surveillance equipment to record the purchase of 3.5 grams of cocaine and an LSD microdose spray that offered about “100 hits,” the documents state.
After a third May 8 drug deal, Bannister told the buyer he would be doing a “decent re-up,” which state agents interpreted to mean he was obtaining a large amount of illegal drugs, the court documents state.
ALE officers searched the couple’s Long Cove Court home in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood around 3:45 p.m. May 15. They found over $69,000 in cash, multiple firearms and ammunition, the documents state. They also found 540 grams of ketamine and 7,666 grams of marijuana, to 3,038 doses of methamphetamine pills and 9,283 Xanax pills, among other drugs.
A rush to return to the couple’s home
On May 18 just before noon, ALE officials received a tip about the couple storing money in an HVAC floor vent. An hour later, investigators learned about a monitored jail telephone conversation between Amanda Banister and her mother. Amanda Banister’s mother planned to visit in coming days, and Banister suggested she stay at the house.
Around 5 p.m. ALE agents searched the home a second time and found $144,760 in cash along with 10 brownies laced with marijuana and 953 tabs of LSD, according to court documents.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
