BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Two arrests in Buncombe County have helped law enforcement pull a sizeable number of drugs off the streets.

The first arrest, on July 11, involved members of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Illegal Gun Reduction and Narcotics Taskforce (IGRANT) unit, along with members of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin Police Department. A traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle, which led to drugs being confiscated, according to a press release.

Officials said the following items were discovered in the vehicle:

  • $18,104.15 in U.S. currency
  • 45.8 grams of fentanyl
  • Glock 44 handgun with ammunition
  • A diamond necklace
  • Miscellaneous drug paraphernalia
  • Less than ½ oz of marijuana
  • 38 dosage units of alprazolam
  • 13 dosage units of buprenorphine

As a result, 43-year-old Aaron Daniel Jones, of Swannanoa, was arrested and charged with the following:

  • Level III trafficking in fentanyl by transport
  • Level III trafficking in fentanyl by possession
  • Maintaining a vehicle
  • Firearm by felon
  • Possession of drug paraphernalia

Jones was placed in the Buncombe County Detention Facility with a $170,000 bond at the time of his arrest.

Then, on July 25, members of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office IGRANT unit once again conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle, which led to the seizure of a large amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

In the vehicle, law enforcement found:

  • 49.9 grams of methamphetamine
  • 22.2 grams of fentanyl
  • 2 grams of cocaine
  • $716.00 in US currency
  • Miscellaneous drug paraphernalia

As a result, 30-year-old Vladislav Dimitriye Nesterenko, of Candler, was arrested and charged with the following:

  • Trafficking methamphetamine by possession (level I)
  • Trafficking methamphetamine by transportation (level I)
  • Trafficking opium or heroin by possession (level II)
  • Trafficking opium or heroin by transportation (level II)
  • Pwimsd sch II cs
  • Felony possession of cocaine
  • Maintain vehicle/dwelling/place cs
  • Possession of drug paraphernalia
  • No operators license

Nesterenko was placed in the Buncombe County Detention Facility with a $196,000 bond.

How IGRANT formed, its impact

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Christina Esmay says the IGRANT program was created in January 2023 as a merger of two already existing sheriff’s office programs — Buncombe County Anti-Crime Taskforce (BCAT) and the Sheriff’s Community Enforcement Team (SCET).

The two merged as a way to blend two units that were both already working toward “eliminating narcotics trafficking and associated firearms offenses within Buncombe County,” Esmay said via email.

To put the amount of drugs, particularly fentanyl, confiscated in these two arrests into perspective, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports:

  • 42% of pills tested for fentanyl contained at least 2 mg of fentanyl, considered a potentially lethal dose.
  • Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

According to the CDC, synthetic opioids (like fentanyl) are the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States.

“The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work to dismantle high-level drug trafficking operations in our community,” Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said in a previous press release.

Resources for anyone struggling from substance use disorders: