COCAINE SEIZED IN COLUMBUS COUNTY

WHITEVILLE -- Columbus County sheriff's deputies seized nearly 29
pounds of cocaine and about $50,000 in cash this week after stopping
a speeding van.

Four men were arrested on multiple charges and were being held with
bonds set as high as $5 million.

Sheriff Jimmy Ferguson said the arrests were made Thursday when Sgt.
Kevin Norris saw the van on N.C. 87 near Riegelwood and chased it a
short distance.

"This is probably one of the biggest drug busts in the history of
Columbus County, certainly the biggest this year in southeastern
North Carolina, and possibly the biggest in 2002 in North Carolina,"
Ferguson said.

He said the arrested men are all from Riegelwood. They are Antwand D.
Brown, 29, of 531 Smith Road; Dion Saulter, 23, of 575 Saulter Road;
James Darren Robbins, 33, of 852 Sand Hole Road; and William Bernard
Bress, 49, of Sand Hole Road.

They are charged with three counts each of trafficking in cocaine,
one count each of possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine,
and one count each of maintaining a vehicle for the sale and delivery
of cocaine.

Bress and Robbins were charged with speeding and with failing to stop
for a blue light and siren. Norris said the two men traded places in
the driver's seat during the chase. Robbins was also charged with
driving with a revoked license.

Bail for Brown and Saulter was set at $5 million, and bail for
Robbins and Bress was set at $1.51 million.

Brown is also facing a murder charge in New Hanover County, Ferguson said.

Ferguson said that when Norris approached the van, he saw a handgun
inside. The sheriff said the men refused to allow a search, so the
van was towed to the Sheriff's Office and held until the deputies
could get a warrant.

He said the cocaine and the cash were found in a console in the
ceiling of the van.

"They had some kind of electronic signal hooked up to the console,"
Norris said. "There was some kind of combination to it. Blow the horn
twice and turn the lights on, or something like that. We couldn't
figure it out, so we used a crowbar."

The search turned up three handguns, the sheriff said.

"I think we've hit a big lick in drug trafficking in Columbus County
and in southeastern North Carolina today," Ferguson said. "This is a
lot of drugs that is not going to be on the streets."