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Fentanyl and paraphernalia lead to arrests of two Hillsborough residents

FILE: Police lights

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Two Hillsborough residents were arrested after an Iredell County traffic stop led to the discovery of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy J. Greene stopped a vehicle traveling east on Interstate 40 near mile marker 144 after noticing an expired and fictitious registration.

The driver, Casey Leigh Ellis, 34, was unable to provide a driver’s license. During the investigation, a K-9 named Elio gave a positive indication for narcotics, according to the sheriff’s office.

A search of the vehicle turned up fentanyl concealed inside a bottle, along with multiple items of drug paraphernalia hidden throughout the car.

Ellis and the passenger, Jose Angel Perez, 29, both of Hillsborough, were arrested and taken to the Iredell County Detention Center.

Ellis faces felony charges of possession of fentanyl and maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances, along with misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license revoked, and displaying an expired or fictitious registration. She was held without bond.

Perez faces felony possession of fentanyl and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. The court set his secured bond at $5,000.

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