ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The Paquotank County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that a team of law enforcement agencies had arrested two men and seized more than 55 grams of the drug fentanyl in a July 10 raid.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid prescription drug, can be fatal to users.
Officials said they began to investigate after concerned citizens reported a possible drug operation headquartered in an Elizabeth City hotel room. A release from the sheriff's office did not confirm which hotel this was.
Officers apprehended one of the suspects' vehicles, which was toting almost $6,000 in cash (and some drugs).
At the hotel room, officers found the majority of the fentanyl involved in the case (and some cash).
Two men, both from the 200 block of Katies Trail in Elizabeth City, were arrested and charged in the case.
Ronald Darnell Dashiell, Jr., faces two felony counts of "trafficking schedule II" and "maintaining dwelling," and one misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Brandon Jamal Dashiell faces one felony count of possession with the intent of distributing a schedule II substance.
They have both bailed out of Albemarle District Jail.
"The drug is typically intravenously or snorted, just like heroin. However, the drug can be 50-100 times more potent," wrote a spokesperson for the sheriff's office.
"Opioid overdoses and deaths continue to be a nationwide epidemic, which directly affects citizens of Pasquotank County," the spokesperson wrote. "According to North Carolina Health and Human Services there were 1,700 unintentional overdose deaths in 2018 and over 6700 emergency room visits related to opioid overdose."
The Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, Elizabeth City Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and Dare County Sheriff’s Office worked together on the operation.
