The Orange and Durham County sheriff’s offices teamed up in the last week to bring charges against two men and seize trafficking amounts of cocaine and heroin.

A release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Friday said it has charged Hillsborough resident Craig Whitted with two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin and several other drug-related offenses. Investigators were able to make the charges after starting a drug investigation into the 64-year-old and determining he was likely obtaining narcotics from a residence in the Durham County part of Rougemont.

Craige Everett Whitted, 64. (Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.)

The investigation led to both Durham and Orange County officials serving search warrants on Tuesday, October 3. During the searches, deputies reported seizing “trafficking amounts of cocaine laced with fentanyl,” as well as items often used when distributing illegal drugs and several firearms.

With the search of the Rougemont residence, Durham County authorities arrested and charged 46-year-old George Mangum. He faces charges of trafficking in cocaine, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, and possession with intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver cocaine.

George Lewis Mangum, 46. (Photo via the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.)

“Obviously, the sale and distribution of illicit drugs goes on across county borders,” said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood in Friday’s release. “Multi-agency investigations serve as force-multipliers, allowing us to work what started as an investigation into street-level sales back to a source of supply.”

“Sheriff Blackwood’s investigators and mine work together regularly,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead. “When asked to assist with this investigation, we were happy to provide any assistance we could.  As criminal activity moves back and forth across county lines, law enforcement must do the same. Through partnerships like this with our neighbors in Orange County, we make all our communities safer, better places to live and work.”

Mangum was issued a $30,000 secured bond at the Durham County Detention Center based on his charges, while Whitted was issued a $25,000 secured bond for the Orange County Detention Center.

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