Former Tabor Correctional officer jailed after sheriff’s deputies seize drugs, 99 firearms from Lumberton home

LUMBERTON — A former Tabor Correctional Institution officer has been charged with multiple drug offenses after a Thursday search of his home yielded enough fentanyl to kill thousands of people and the discovery of 99 firearms, according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.

Derek C. Madden, 32, of Lumberton, was charged with two counts of trafficking opium or heroin, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, nine counts of possession of a stolen firearm, possession of drug paraphernalia and simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.

Madden was placed in the Robeson County Detention Center under a $1,075,000 secured bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

“This is the largest weapon seizure I’ve ever seen in this county,” said Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins.

Nine of the 99 weapons recovered were stolen, he said. The Sheriff’s Office will work with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine if more guns were stolen or if any were used in crimes.

Guns will be held for evidence until the trial, said sheriff’s Maj. Damien McLean. The judge will determine what is done with the firearms after the trial. The ATF’s database called the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, also will be used to determine if guns were stolen.

Madden resigned Friday from his post as a correctional officer at Tabor Correctional Institution, according to John Bull, a Communications officer for Prisons at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

“The Department of Public Safety has zero tolerance for any staff involved in any illegal activity and is cooperating fully in this investigation. The Department has many hard-working correctional professionals and it takes staff arrests very seriously. These allegations are under internal investigation as well,” Bull said in a statement.

Multiple drug overdoses in the area near Madden’s home on the 8000 block of N.C. 72 East near Lumberton sparked the start of the investigation that ended in his arrest, McLean said.

“During the course of the investigation and search a quantity of cocaine, fentanyl, suboxone strips, methadone, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia, U.S. Currency and 99 firearms were located and seized,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

During the home search, 24,000 milligrams of fentanyl were recovered, which is enough to kill 12,000 people, Wilkins said.

There were children in the home and most of the guns were loaded at the time of the search, the sheriff said.

One of the most dangerous items recovered was the stamp with the words “attorney-client privilege,” McLean said.

The stamp, if used on mail sent to inmates, restricts law enforcement personnel and prison workers from opening mail prior to the delivery to inmates, Wilkins said.

“He can actually send illegal contraband through the jail, such as weapons,” McLean said if the stamp were used on mail to inmates.

“This is usually something we see on legal mail,” Wilkins said. “He definitely shouldn’t have had this.”

Madden’s arrest comes after the recent arrests of three Robeson County detention officers in April for charges of identity theft.

“It’s a black eye to the law enforcement profession,” Wilkins said.

The arrest can affect the image of all law enforcement personnel to the public, he said. But, not all law enforcement officers should take on the bad image produced by some officers, he said.

“There’s just a few bad apples out there,” he said.

The investigation continues in the case, the sheriff said.

Anyone with additional information or any information regarding drug activity in Robeson County is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Division at 910-671-3191 or email drugs@robesoncoso.org.