FARGO — In late July, a courtroom in Fargo was the scene of a detention hearing in one of the latest of more than a dozen federal drug cases filed this year with significant local connections.

Richard Fleisch, 57, was arrested in mid-July and charged with possession with intent to distribute illegal substances after a Drug Enforcement Agency and Fargo police search of his north Fargo apartment yielded nearly four pounds of cocaine, two firearms and more than $165,000.

During previous surveillance of Fleisch, investigators said they observed him involved in a hand-to-hand exchange of cocaine with another individual at Granite City Food & Brewery near West Acres. He was ordered detained Wednesday, July 30, pending trial in the case. Fleisch previously faced federal drug charges in South D

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