Statesville police say a narcotics search last Thursday turned up more than five ounces of cocaine and about 17.5 grams of fentanyl, ending a two-month investigation and landing two men in jail on steep bonds. The warrant was served at an east-side home, and both suspects were booked into the Iredell County Detention Center, each on a $750,000 secured bond, according to authorities.
Search warrant, seizure and arrests
According to a Facebook post by the Statesville Police Department, narcotics investigators executed a search warrant at 606 Nelly Green Circle after a two-month probe. Inside, officers reported seizing more than five ounces of cocaine, about 17.5 grams of fentanyl and other items they say are tied to drug distribution.
The post identifies 40-year-old Ralph Sherburne Zartuche and 44-year-old Raymond Dewayne Ramseur as the two men taken into custody without incident. The department also used the post to nudge residents to speak up, asking anyone with information about illegal drug activity to contact its tip line.
Charges and court records
Iredell Superior Court calendars list Ramseur on active felony dockets that include trafficking-related charges, and local reporting notes that Zartuche was arrested in late February on a cocaine possession charge. N.C. Courts show Ramseur tied to trafficking counts, and Iredell Free News reported Zartuche's February arrest. County records also confirm both men were processed at the Iredell County Detention Center following the March search.
Regional context and risk
Public-health and law-enforcement officials have repeatedly warned that fentanyl remains a persistent and dangerous presence across North Carolina. Toxicology data from the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show fentanyl-positive deaths driving a large share of the state's overdose counts. Because tiny amounts of fentanyl can be lethal, police treat even relatively small seizures as serious threats to community safety.
What to know now
The department is asking residents with tips to call its non-emergency number at 704-878-3406 and says the investigation remains active. Booking and custody information is available through the online inmate locator on the Iredell County website.
Trafficking charges are felonies under the Controlled Substances Act in the North Carolina General Assembly statutes, and both defendants are presumed innocent as their cases move through the courts.
