Pee Dee twins sentenced on federal drug charges

A Bennettsville man and his twin brother have been sentenced for conspiracy to sell crack and powder cocaine, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins.

U.S. District Judge Bryan Harwell sentenced 27-year-old Hakeem Abduk Johnson to 14 years in prison and his brother, Raheem Abdus Salam Johnson of Cheraw, to 16 years in prison.

A confidential informant working with the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office made two purchases of crack from the Johnson brothers in February 2008.

In August, deputies went to a residence to serve arrest warrants, and found Hakeem Johnson and Denis William Ratliff inside the house with more cocaine, along with a pistol in one of the bedrooms.

Ratliff recently was sentenced in federal court to five years in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case, which also was investigated by the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as part of Project CeaseFire, an initiative of the United States Attorneys Office that seeks to aggressively prosecute gun-related crimes.