Jacksonville Man Arrested for Opioid Trafficking, Gun Possession
ONSLOW COUNTY, NC — A Jacksonville man with a prior federal drug conviction is facing new charges after being arrested Tuesday for trafficking opioids and possessing a firearm as a felon, police said.
Marquese R. Sanders, 27, was taken into custody by Jacksonville police on August 26, 2025, and charged with:
Two counts of trafficking opium or heroin
Possession of a firearm by a felon
According to arrest warrants, Sanders was found with 28 grams or more of opioids, including heroin and para-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl—a potent synthetic opioid.
Sanders is legally prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior federal conviction. Records show that he was previously convicted of distribution of heroin and para-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, along with firearm possession in furtherance of a drug crime. That offense, committed on October 10, 2018, led to a 114-month prison sentence and eight years of supervised release handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in June 2020.
He is currently being held in the Onslow County Jail, with bond set at $150,000.
