Beaufort County man arrested for fentanyl trafficking

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office arrested a St. Helena man for alleged felony fentanyl trafficking July 4.

Lorenzo Dandre Moore, 34, was pulled over in the early afternoon for a failure to use his turn signal when entering the Burton Wells Recreation Center parking lot, according to a police report. Moore quickly hopped out of his vehicle after pulling into the lot, and later told the officer that he was using his phone and had to exit.

When officers requested to see Moore’s license, registration and insurance, Moore said they were in the vehicle but he did not want or trust the officer to get them, the report said.

The officer then opened the passenger door and retrieved the documents, spotting a container of alien head-shaped blue and mushroom-shaped pink pills. Moore originally denied knowing what the pills were but quickly later admitted that they were ecstasy. He told the officer that the pills were not his and belonged to a friend who he had dropped off earlier.

The officer field tested the pills and found that the 21 pink pills tested positive for ketamine. The 18 blue pills, weighing a total of 5.7 grams, tested positive for fentanyl, the report said.

Moore had two cell phones in his possession and said he had just finished an Instacart grocery order when he was pulled over. He said he had two phones to help with Instacart deliveries.

Moore was arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking of four grams or more, but less than 14 grams. It was his first trafficking offense.

According to South Carolina Law, having any amount of fentanyl more than four grams automatically comes with a trafficking charge, regardless of intent to distribute or sell. This charge carries seven to 25 years in jail and a potential $50,000 fine. A first offense of possession of four to 14 grams is the lowest tier fentanyl trafficking charge.