‘Surprised’: Lancaster man charged with dealing LSD, Ecstasy in SC, NC drug bust
.jpg)
A Lancaster man is one of four people charged with trafficking LSD and Ecstasy after a federal Department of Homeland Security raid in Charlotte that led to drug seizures in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The appearance of such a large amount of LSD in South Carolina surprised the Lancaster County Sheriff. Police said inter-agency cooperation led to the bust.
Christopher Dustin Owens, 23, of Kings Circle in Lancaster, was arrested Jan. 4 in Charlotte after selling more than 1,000 hits of suspected LSD to an undercover agent, Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said. Owens met the undercover officer in a parking lot off Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte but had been under surveillance, Faile said.
Owens was taken into custody after the drug deal. Lancaster deputies have warrants against Owens for trafficking LSD and Ecstasy, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. He is being held in a North Carolina jail pending extradition to South Carolina.
Police then searched Owens’ home in Lancaster. Officers seized an AK-47 rifle, 1,257 more hits of LSD, 169 Ecstasy pills, 35 grams of marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and drug paraphernalia. Police also found more than $1,300 in cash.
More suspected LSD was in a binder of paper, Faile said.
“I am a little surprised at the presence of such a large quantity of LSD in our county,” Faile said. “This joint operation led to the arrest of four people on very serious drug charges and the seizure of several thousand doses of LSD, a large amount of cash, and two firearms.”
Officers in Forsythe County, N.C., and with the Mocksville Police Department near Winston-Salem then searched two homes in Forsythe County, Faile said. Almost 4,000 hits of LSD were seized, along with $11,000 in cash, marijuana and another AK-47 rifle.
North Carolina police charged three other men with trafficking LSD, Faile said.
This story was originally published January 10, 2019 at 5:00 PM with the headline "‘Surprised’: Lancaster man charged with dealing LSD, Ecstasy in SC, NC drug bust."
