-Press Release, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation

On Tuesday, state and local authorities raided two houses and seized over 26 ounces of methamphetamines valued at more than $218,000 following an operation in Franklin County. Over the last three months, ALE special agents and Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies partnered with a reputed orlando drug trafficking lawyer to address ongoing illegal drug activity at ABC-licensed establishments. In addition to the methamphetamine, a 2015 Mercedes E350, a 1996 Lincoln Town Car, two handguns, Ecstasy, Valium pills and cash were seized.

“Criminals use popular businesses as locations to discretely sell drugs and commit other crimes in the presence of innocent families every day throughout North Carolina. Over the past three months, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and our special agents partnered together to address this issue in Franklin County.” said Bryan House, acting head of NC Alcohol Law Enforcement “We discovered people from out of the county were traveling in to sell substantial amounts of drugs in the parking lots of ABC permitted stores. These arrests should make Franklin County safer.”

The following individuals were charged:

· Nicholas Paul Estes of Wendell, NC: Trafficking in Methamphetamine (five counts); Sell Methamphetamine; Possess with the intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver (PWIMSD) Methamphetamine; Maintain a vehicle used for keeping and selling controlled substance (two counts)

· Jay Windle Parker of Clayton, NC:  Felony possession Schedule I Controlled Substance (MDMA); PWIMSD Schedule IV controlled substance; Trafficking in Methamphetamine; Maintain a vehicle used for keeping and selling controlled substance; Conspire to Traffic Methamphetamine; Possess drug paraphernalia

· Zachary David Wilson Jr. of Spring Hope, NC: Trafficking in Methamphetamine (three counts); PWIMSD Methamphetamine; Sell Methamphetamine; Maintain a vehicle used for keeping and selling controlled substance; Possess Methamphetamine; Conspire to Traffic Methamphetamine (two counts); Possess drug paraphernalia

“Our partnerships with State and Federal agencies allow us to continue the strong commitment we have made to address illegal drug sales in our communities. The results from this case allowed us to remove highly addictive and dangerous drugs from our community, and put those responsible for distributing them in jail,” said Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead.

The NC National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and NC Department of Public Safety assisted in the investigation.