Multi-Agency Operation Leads to Seizure of Thousands of Deadly Pressed Fentanyl Pills

On Friday, January 3, 2025, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 27-year-old Carlos Lugo-Garcia and executed a search warrant on his home in Beaufort County. Deputies seized approximately 6,300 illegally pressed fentanyl pills and 614 grams of marijuana. Deputies also seized a 9mm handgun.

Carlos Lone-month-longugo-Garcia was arrested and confined in the Beaufort County Detention Center under $1,000,000 cash-only bond for the following charges:

-(3 counts) of Level III Trafficking Fentanyl

-Possession With Intent to Sell/Deliver Marijuana

-Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

This case concluded a one-month-long investigation for the distribution of fentanyl by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Drug Unit, assisted by the Craven County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Bureau and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations. Through the combined efforts of these agencies, over 8,800 illegally pressed fentanyl pills were taken off the streets during this investigation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2 milligrams of fentanyl could be lethal. The amount seized in the investigation had the potential to kill more than 400,000 people.

Beaufort County Sheriff Scott Hammonds states this is the largest single pressed fentanyl pill seizure ever to his knowledge in Beaufort County, and he believes this arrest benefits the surrounding counties in lives saved, by removing this large quantity of drugs from our streets. Sheriff Hammonds asks anyone with information regarding suspected drug sale/use or any other crime to contact the

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at (252) 946-7111. You can also submit tips anonymously by contacting Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at (252) 974-6400 or submit your confidential tip by downloading the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office App and selecting Submit A Tip.