14 drug trafficking cases dismissed, Raleigh police detective on leave after informant provides false evidence

A detective is on administrative leave while the Raleigh Police Department and the Wake County District Attorney’s Office conduct separate investigations into more than a dozen arrests the officer made with false information from a confidential informant.

The informant conducted controlled drug buys and provided video recordings to Officer Omar Abdullah between last December and May. During that time, at least 14 people were arrested and jailed on various drug trafficking charges, according to District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

Freeman said lab tests showed the substances collected from the informant were not illegal narcotics.

Additionally, video recordings from the same informant “did not capture the entire transaction,” Freeman said.

Charges against 14 defendants have been dismissed. Freeman’s office is investigating whether any other active cases involved evidence from the informant.

“This is very concerning to us. We do not want to be involved in using false information to prosecute or put anybody in prison,” said Freeman. “We are trying to get to the bottom of it.”

Marcus Vanirvin was served a warrant at his apartment on May 21 on heroin trafficking charges based on a controlled buy involving the informant in question. Vanirvin spent 18 days in jail before his charges were dropped due to a lack of credible evidence.

“The Raleigh Police Department came into my son’s home. They trashed it. They cut holes up underneath the cushions like they were looking for something. They found no money. They found no drugs. They found nothing to indicate that Marcus was a part of some drug ring,” said Robin Mills, Vanirvin’s mother.

Mills said her son denies ever buying or using heroin.

Abdullah joined the Raleigh Police Department in 2009 as a police recruit and has been promoted four times. He was promoted from senior police officer to detective in 2017. In 2013, Abdullah was named the department’s “Employee of the Year.”

Mills wants all of Abdullah’s arrests to be reviewed.

“They’re literally framing us,” Mills said. “Everything and everyone that this police officer has ever arrested should come into question, because why would the police officer admit he knew? Why not make it all about the C.I.? It’s not a good look.”

The District Attorney’s Office is looking into any wrongdoing by the informant and Abdullah, but Freeman said no evidence has been presented to suggest Abdullah conspired with the informant in order to make arrests.

“Certainly, we are concerned about it and believe there is grounds for the confidential informant to potentially be charged criminally, and if we get additional information that leads us to believe that there’s criminal involvement by Abdullah, we will take appropriate steps,” Freeman said.

Vanirvin has no other recent charges and worked full-time in construction until his arrest, his mom said.

He’s currently looking for full-time work so he can support himself and his 1-year-old son.

“It messed up his finances. It messed up his job. It messed up his nerves. It messed up my nerves,” said Mills.

“It’s very disappointing,” she said. “You expect the system to work when the reality is the system is doing what it’s always done. It’s broke, and it’s been broke.”