Lincoln Co. deputies make arrests in drug raid

More than a dozen people were arrested Thursday morning in a drug bust, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, more than 30 officers started looking for 38 suspects around 5 a.m. SWAT teams, Lincoln County deputies and the U.S. Marshal's Office swarmed houses.

Deputies said the suspects are some of the area’s biggest street-level drug dealers and are accused of dealing everything from prescription drugs to marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

The 38 suspects were identified during an undercover investigation that started this summer, investigators said.

Investigators said most of the arrests were the result of tips by neighbors, many of them fed up with the negative impact of drug dealing in their communities. 

“This community here, earlier this year we had a murder down the street.  It was the only murder we had in Lincoln County.  It can really impact the community," said Lincoln County Sheriff David Carpenter, as he stood on Grandview Lane in Lincolnton. 

Lincoln County resident Laura Hertsoe, who lives across the street from one of the suspects arrested Thursday, said she was taken aback by the arrests.

“It's very surprising, especially when I have two small kids," Hertsoe said.

Investigators arrested 20 of the 38 people indicted as part of the investigation. Regular patrol officers plan to arrest the others as they're located.