A Roanoke Rapids couple await August 24 district court dates after they were charged last week with possession of 25 kilos of cocaine.

The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said the street value of the cocaine is $2.6 million and equates to 57 pounds.

The raid, which Sheriff Tyree Davis alluded to but did not expound upon during his August 7 report to county commissioners, occurred early that morning around 12:30 and resulted in the arrests of Jose Reyes and his wife Corina Chavez on cocaine trafficking charges.

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Captain Scott Hall said Agent B. Murphy had been investigating the case for several months. The investigation culminated with a search warrant execution by the narcotics divisions of the sheriff’s office and Roanoke Rapids Police Department at 817 East Twelfth Street.

Hall said the sheriff’s office’s special response team assisted with entry into the residence as well as detainment of the occupants which included Reyes and Chavez along with three children.

A search of the residence revealed 25 kilos of cocaine as well as loose plastic bags of cocaine, $56,000 in cash of varying denominations, scales, a Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm handgun, various packaging materials for kilogram-weight substances and empty kilogram wrappers.

The sheriff’s office deployed Raven, a canine, during the search.

Reyes, 32, and Chavez, 30, were each charged with trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The couple remain in the Halifax County Detention Center, each on $1 million secured bonds.

Hall said the children were placed into the custody of responsible adults. 

Asked whether the case was still being investigated, Hall said, “Anytime we make a drug arrest, we always attempt to further the investigation.”

Asked whether this could possibly turn into a federal case, Hall said, “Anytime we’re dealing with large amounts of drugs we always communicate with the United States attorney.”

As of this morning, Reyes and Chavez had not been entered into the federal online case repository.

This morning Davis said, “First, great job to the narcotics units on this case. They are continuing to work diligently to help make our entire county a safer place. This is one of the largest cocaine seizures in Halifax County and I applaud them for their hard work.” 

The sheriff said he realizes that public reaction to drug arrests can often lead to comments like, “‘Why are y’all messing with them? You need to work on murders and other violent crimes.’”

He said, however, “Most of our murders and violent crimes are directly related to drug sales and distribution. If we can put a damper on drug sales and distribution we are attacking the root of the problems when it comes to most of our murders and violent crimes.”

Said Davis: “I don’t care if it’s murders, gun violence, drug sales, robberies, larcenies or petty theft. The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office will not tolerate people terrorizing our county. We will not allow your actions to have our citizens living in fear. If you try, we will target you. We will build a solid case against you. And I promise you, we will bring the entire force of the local, state and federal legal system down on top of you.”