Union Co. Sheriff: More than $3M in marijuana found in home

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — More than $3 million worth of marijuana was found in a search of a Union County home, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff’s deputies participated in a joint investigation involving the Moore County Sheriff's Office, Monroe Police Department and the Marshville Police Department on Wednesday.

Moore County sheriff's investigators contacted authorities in Union County after an undercover drug investigation there led to the arrest of a man from Union County, officials said.  Based on information from Moore County officers, Union County deputies said they uncovered ties to two homes, one in Marshville and one in Monroe.

Monroe police officers and sheriff's deputies searched a home in Monroe Wednesday night, gathering information and seizing drug paraphernalia in the process, the sheriff’s office said.

A similar search was conducted at a home in Marshville, where Marshville police and sheriff's deputies took two suspects into custody and seized more than one pound of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of $46,000, the sheriff’s office said. Officials said they also seized $8,975 in cash, three handguns and one rifle.

The sheriff’s office said Antonio Gaytan Lopez, 29, of Marshville and Octavio Valdez Villa, 26, of Monroe were charged in connection with those searches.

As the investigation continued to unfold, officers said they got a search warrant for a third home north of Marshville. The sheriff’s office said officers confiscated 745 pounds of packaged marijuana and four firearms.  The street value of the type and quantity of marijuana found is $3.278 million, according to investigators.  Alton Devonne Greene, 60, was charged in connection with the search, officials said.

WSOC