3 days ago
Carteret County Sheriff's Office arrest 37 suspects on 333 felony drug charges
CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)- The Carteret County Sheriff's Office arrested 37 suspects on 333 felony drug charges over the past 6 months.
'Operation Think Twice' involved numerous undercover operations and found the suspects actively engaged in drug sales in the community including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Sheriff Asa Buck III said they made numerous controlled and undercover purchases from each of the suspects.
'If you think you're going to sell drugs here in Carteret County, you better think twice,' Buck said.
Only three people have died so far this year in Carteret County from an overdose. Buck says this a dramatic decrease from the 35 that died in 2020 and only continues to decrease each year.
'I think that's due to a number of different things, especially the strict enforcement,' Buck said. 'When you take somebody off the street, you put them in jail, they're not out here in the community selling drugs or to somebody's son or daughter.'
Buck emphasized that strict enforcement is a part of a long process before it leads to a conviction.
'I absolutely wouldn't say that in Carteret County were too tough on anybody. Matter of fact, I'd like to see some of the laws be a little bit tougher,' Buck said. 'If you put fentanyl in somebody's hand, you hand them a loaded gun.'
Prosecutorial District 4 also has one of the highest charging and conviction rates in the state for death by distribution
'One of the reasons that we're so proactive and aggressive with regard to death distribution and drug traffickers is because we want to keep as much pressure as we can on drug traffickers and those who are bringing harm and death into our communities to make our community safer for all of our families,' District Attorney Scott Thomas said.
The county also emphasizes compassion for those looking to go into recovery.
'We give those folks the opportunity to go to treatment programs out of our county or many right here in our county,' Buck said. 'If they could successfully complete those programs, maybe instead of getting an active sentence, they might get on probation'
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