Second Suspect In Major Alexander County Drug Investigation Is Arrested

A second suspect in a major Alexander County drug investigation is now in custody.

Tuesday evening, 36-year-old Nathan Daniel Smith of Taylorsville was arrested in Watauga County. He had been listed as a suspect by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Chad Pennell said this morning that Investigators were able to determine that Smith was in the Boone area. Alexander County Deputies along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, and Boone Police Department made the arrest. He is charged with:

Felony trafficking methamphetamine
Felony trafficking cocaine
Felony conspiracy to traffic cocaine by sell and delivery
Felony possession of schedule II controlled substance

Smith is being held without bond in the Alexander County Detention Center.

As previously reported, the  Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lenoir Police Department, has concluded a four-month investigation into the sale and distribution of multiple types of narcotics.

On Sunday, December 14, Deputies executed three search warrants at separate residences located off Willie McLeod Road in Alexander County. As a result of the searches, investigators seized the following narcotics:

6.6 pounds of methamphetamine
2.4 pounds of cocaine
2.7 pounds of marijuana
7 grams of fentanyl
5 grams of psychedelic mushrooms
Officers also seized U.S. currency, firearms, and illegal non-tax-paid alcoholic beverages (moonshine). The estimated street value of the narcotics seized is approximately $61,000.

Bradley Dwayne Smith, age 49, of Taylorsville, was arrested and charged with the following offenses:
One count of Trafficking Methamphetamine
One count of Trafficking Cocaine
One count of Trafficking Fentanyl
One count of Felony Possession of a Schedule I Controlled Substance
Two counts of Maintaining a Dwelling to Sell Controlled Substances
Three counts of Conspiracy to Sell Controlled Substances
Three counts of Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell, and Deliver Controlled Substances
One count of Felony Possession of Marijuana
One count of Possession of Non-Tax-Paid Alcoholic Beverage
One count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

The bond for Bradley Dwayne Smith is $1.5 million. He remains in custody.