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Four men were arrested following a joint investigation by local, state, county and federal law enforcers that included nearly two dozen undercover buys of heroin, fentanyl, meth and firearms, Acting Attorney New Jersey General Matthew J. Platkin announced Thursday, Feb. 24.
Arrested were:
- Ricardo Lugo Jr., 21, of Egg Harbor Township;
- Jamal M. George, 26, of Mays Landing;
- Rashawn S. Parks, 31, of Galloway;
- Rasan McGee, 30, of Egg Harbor City.
Lugo was arrested on Feb. 16, leading to the seizure of a 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number and six ounces of meth, Platkin said. George, Parks, and McGee were arrested when task force members and partnering agencies executed search warrants on their homes and vehicles on Jan. 27, he said.
All four were brought before a judge who ordered that they remain held in the Atlantic County Jail until trial under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
The takedown operation began when members of an elite task force investigating gang activity learned that Lugo was moving large amounts of heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in and around Atlantic City and Mays Landing, Platkin said.
Of the various undercover buys they made in the probe, nine were directly from him, the attorney general said.
The investigation also led to George, Parks and McGee, who Platkin said were moving drugs and guns through the area as well. Detectives made 14 “controlled” buys of both from the trio, he said.
The guns and drugs seized “illustrate the serious threat” the group posed, the attorney general said.
One of the firearms is a “ghost gun,” which Platkin said has “become the weapon of choice for many violent criminals.”
That because the do-it-yourself firearms -- made from kits of parts and tools -- aren't stamped with serial numbers registered with a federally licensed manufacturer. This bypasses background checks and makes them all but impossible for authorities to trace.
“Each time we seize one of these guns from the black market—in this case a fully automatic assault rifle—we save lives,” Platkin said.
The entire haul, he said, included:
- two 9mm handguns with large-capacity magazines [one in George’s residence, one in McGee’s residence];
- two .380-caliber handguns with large-capacity magazines [both in George’s residence];
- numerous rounds of ammunition, including illegal hollow-point bullets [in George’s residence];
- large-capacity drum-type magazine [in George’s residence];
- five large-capacity pistol magazines [in George’s residence];
- a half-ounce of crack [in McGee’s residence];
- an ounce of combined heroin and fentanyl [in George’s residence];
- seven “bricks” of heroin (each containing 50 single-dose glassines of heroin) [in Parks’ residence];
- 19 OxyContin pills [in Parks’ residence]
- drug packaging materials [in George’s, McGee’s and Parks’ residences].
George is charged with selling the two assault rifles, each equipped with a 30-round large capacity magazine, as well as a handgun with a large-capacity magazine.
McGee is charged with selling a handgun with a large-capacity magazine and Oxycodone pills.
Lugo, George, and Parks are all charged with distributing meth. Lugo and George are also charged with selling heroin, fentanyl and a combination of the two.
The operation was led by New Jersey State Police, the state Division of Criminal Justice and the Atlantic City Metro Task Force, the attorney general said. Participating were the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office and Atlantic City Police Department, he said.
Assisting, Platkin said, were the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Hamilton Township (Atlantic County) Police Department, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cherry Hill Office and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
“This operation is another example of how effective the Atlantic City Metro Task Force has been in targeting these trafficking networks, shutting them down, and saving lives in the process,” NJ State Police Supt. Col. Patrick J. Callahan said. “By preventing these deadly weapons and narcotics from reaching the streets, we have undoubtedly made our communities safer.”
“Since its formation, the Atlantic City Metro Task Force has made hundreds of arrests, seized scores of guns, and taken large quantities of drugs off the streets of Atlantic City and nearby municipalities,” state Division of Criminal Justice Director Lyndsay V. Ruotolo added.
Playing roles in the arrests and searches were the New Jersey State Police T.E.A.M.S. South Unit, the NJSP K-9 Unit, Casino Special Investigations Unit and Violent & Organized Crime Control South Unit, Atlantic County Emergency Response Team and Egg Harbor city police.
Deputy Attorney General Katelyn Waegener is handling the case for the state.
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