A joint operation involving the FBI and the Wilmington Police Department ended with the arrest of a Wilmington-area man and the seizure of more than 900 grams of cocaine on Tuesday, after federal search warrants were executed across the region. The coordinated sweep, carried out with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the Leland Police Department, also turned up large quantities of fentanyl and firearms, officials said. The probe remains active and investigators say additional charges are possible.
Federal Search Warrants Executed Tuesday
In a post on X, FBI Charlotte said multiple federal search warrants were executed Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into narcotics trafficking and violent criminal activity. According to the post, the joint effort resulted in the arrest of a Wilmington man and the seizure of more than 900 grams of cocaine. The FBI did not release many additional details, citing the continuing nature of the investigation.
Local Police Name Suspect And Describe Haul
Wilmington Police later identified the suspect as 31-year-old Carlton James McIntyre Jr. and said he was taken into custody in Leland, according to WECT. The station reported that WPD and partnering agencies recovered about five kilograms of fentanyl, roughly 900 grams of cocaine and two firearms during the operation.
WECT also reported that McIntyre was on federal probation at the time of his arrest and that investigators found evidence tying him to a shooting that occurred about two years ago.
Part Of A Wider Federal-Local Push
Federal prosecutors and local partners have been running a Violent Crime Action Plan in the Wilmington area that targets gang violence and high-volume narcotics trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The office has said the strategy has produced dozens of federal indictments, dozens of seized firearms and significant fentanyl seizures in recent years.
That playbook, which leans heavily on collaboration across agencies, helps explain why federal, county and municipal officers were working side by side on Tuesday’s warrants.
What Comes Next
WECT reports that McIntyre faces state-level trafficking charges and a federal probation violation, and that he is being held without bond at the New Hanover County Detention Facility. Prosecutors may seek additional federal charges depending on lab results and the outcome of the ongoing investigation, and officials say more counts are possible as they follow new leads.
An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
