DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Piedmont Triad county has a newly formed drug task force, officials announced at a press conference on Monday.

During the press conference, officials announced the formation of the Davidson Anti-Drug Regional Taskforce, or DART, a combined effort between Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Police Department and Thomasville Police Department. DART was formed in September and has made multiple arrests since its formation, officials said during the conference.

“This task force is a collaborative partnership between each organization’s narcotics divisions that have come together to combine resources and intelligence to combat illegal narcotics, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking networks, reduce the availability of illicit substances, and enhance public safety through coordinated, intelligence-driven investigations and enforcement,” the announced in a press release. “The Davidson Anti-Drug Regional Task Force is committed to the suppression of illegal narcotics in Davidson County, the City of Lexington and the City of Thomasville. This task force will continue to utilize all available and pre-existing resources including other already established local, state and federal partners. The main objectives of this task force are the identification, investigation, and arrest of any individuals or organizations involved in narcotics trafficking, the seizure of assets acquired through narcotics trafficking, and the promotion of coordinated narcotics efforts among the law enforcement agencies within the county and the surrounding area.”

They announced at the press conference that their first operation has resulted in the seizure of narcotics and multiple firearms as well as several arrests. This investigation was kicked off in 2024 when detectives intercepted a package delivered to a home in Thomasville, which contained roughly 22 pounds of methamphetamine. The task force says that this amount of meth has a street value of $176,000 and had the potential to kill 50,000 people.

Between November and December, they executed search warrants in Forsyth and Davidson Counties that resulted in the seizure of five pounds of fentanyl and several guns, alongside other paraphernalia items.

Michael D’Angelo Jones, 49, Mary Lou Wilson, 45 and Curtis McBee Mashack, 43, have all been arrested and charged in the court of this investigation.

Jones was charged with:

• Trafficking methamphetamine
• Trafficking opium or heroin by possession
• Trafficking opium or heroin by transport
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• Possession with intent to sell and deliver a schedule II controlled substance

Wilson was charged with:

• Trafficking opium or heroin by possession trafficking opium or heroin by transport
• Possession with intent to sell and deliver a schedule II controlled substance

Mashack was charged with:

• Trafficking opium or heroin by possession
• Manufacture a schedule II controlled substance
• Possession with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver a schedule II controlled substance
• Manufacture, sell, deliver, possess a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a park
• Possession of drug paraphernalia
• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon