The operation involving Bladen and Columbus counties was the second meth trafficking investigation in a week.
Three Bladen County residents are in jail after the second case involving crystal methamphetamine trafficking in a week here.
The sheriff’s office said Laurn Storms, 35; Chris Edwin Page, 59; and Jerry Atkinson Jr., 48, were arrested as part of a joint operation by Columbus and Bladen agents. All three were charged with trafficking and other felonies.
Storms was arrested Thursday night in the Walgreen’s parking lot in Whiteville, according to a news release from the CCSO. Heustess was charged with two counts of sale and delivery of crystal meth, and three counts of trafficking. Her bond was set at $157,500 secured. She gave her address as Storms Road, Bladenboro.
After Heustess was taken into custody, the sheriff’s office said, agents from Columbus and Bladen raided a home at 3790 N.C. 211 East, between Bladenboro and Clarkton. Atkinson and Page were at the residence at the time.
Deputies found crystal meth, scales, cash, a handgun and a sawed-off shotgun in the residence. Some of the drugs were hidden in a soft drink can and a container of cleanser.
Page, 59, was charged with trafficking in meth, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver the drug, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, maintaining a dwelling for drug activities, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon. His bond was set at $600,000. He listed the suspect property as his address, according to arrest records.
Atkinson was charge with the same crimes. His bond was also set at $600,000. He listed Sable Run, Clarkton as his address.
The operation was just the latest in a series of cooperative efforts between the two counties. Bladen, Columbus and Robeson entered into an agreement last year that allows agencies to cross county lines as part of investigations.
“Sheriff (Jim) McVicker and I are proactively targeting drug activity in both Bladen and Columbus Counties with the common goal of making their communities a safer place to live, work, and relax,” Columbus Sheriff Jody Greene said.
Last week, a Chadbourn man and woman were arrested after an extensive undercover operation targeting an alleged meth trafficking operation near Whiteville. The sheriff’s office and Whiteville Police worked together on that case.
