The Orange County Sheriff’s Office charged two North Carolina men on Monday for drug trafficking after investigators witnessed a deal happen in a Chapel Hill parking lot.

A release from the office on Tuesday said sheriff’s deputies, Chapel Hill Police officers, and federal investigators detained 36-year-old Sergio Aguiar of Winston-Salem and 31-year-old Octavio Lopez of Raleigh after seeing a suspected drug deal. The men — who were off Fordham Boulevard near its Sage Road intersection — were found to have “trafficking-level” quantities of cocaine in their vehicles. The sheriff’s office added that the cocaine was also laced with fentanyl, which added onto the charges levied against the duo.

Aguiar is faces charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver fentanyl, the sale and delivery of fentanyl, and three counts of trafficking in opium or heroin. Lopez, meanwhile, faces charges of maintaining a vehicle or dwelling place for the sale of controlled substances, two counts of trafficking in opium or heroin, and two counts of misdemeanor child abuse. Two young children with Lopez at the time of the arrests were unharmed, according to Orange County investigators, and their mother picked them up from the scene of the drug deal. As a result, law enforcement notified Child Protective Services.

“Fentanyl first appeared in our community as a cutting agent in heroin,” said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood in the release. “Now, we are also seeing it in methamphetamine and cocaine. It’s difficult to help people understand just how lethal this chemical can be. Those who use narcotics are at risk of accidental overdose if the amount of fentanyl in their drug of choice is more than they are accustomed to. Even incidental contact with trace amounts of the drug can cause serious problems for a person with no tolerance to such chemical agents.” 

Lopez and Aguiar each made their first appearance in court on the charges Tuesday afternoon. Each posted bonds of $50,000 later in the evening.

 

Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

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