Thirty-two arrested in latest NC county’s drug, gun operation

NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) — The Craven County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 32 people as part of its latest drug and gun operation.

Sheriff Chip Hughes and New Bern Police Chief Patrick Gallagher announced the arrests during a press conference held Tuesday morning.

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“When we bring our teams together, it gives us more resources, we’re more effective and we operate as on team,” Hughes said.

Hughes said 879 grams of heroin and fentanyl were seized, a total of 8,70 doses. The meth collected was 1,130 grams, 5,650 dosage units. Hughes also said 92 grams of cocaine and 460 doses were also seized along with 328 doses of various pills.

“Every dosage unit our men and women take off the street equates to a life saved,” Hughes said.

During these investigations, Hughes said deputies and officers seized 61 guns that were illegally possessed by felons or were reported stolen. There was also $5,000 in drug money seized that will be forfeited.

“We do not accidentally find the criminals that are involved in the most dangerous acts of violence,” Gallagher said. “We know who these individuals are and we build cases based on constitutional principles that are accepted by the courts.”

For those who did get taken in, Hughes said the county has a jail navigator for their detention center.

“That’s someone when an inmate comes in, sits down with them, talks with them about whatever issues they might be having aside from the criminal aspect,” Hughes said. “Not everybody that comes into jail is a bad person, maybe they’ve made a poor life decision.”

For those engaging in felonious acts, Hughes said it’s only a matter of time.

“If you look at these charges, we want you to see that these are the most serious charges in regard to drugs and weapons,” Hughes said.

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