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Authorities said one of them, Fernando Bautista, tossed nearly a pound of MDMA into the Hudson River while investigators were executing a search warrant at his City Place apartment in Edgewater.
If sold on the street, it would have fetched an estimated $16,000, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.
Detectives said they seized more than two pounds of Ethylone, a club drug commonly used as a substitute for Molly, while arresting the other two, Alejandra Arbelaez and Angel Tejada, at their Palisade Avenue high-rise apartment in Fort Lee.
Investigators also seized $112,000 from the apartment, Molinelli said at the time.
Ethylone, which often is imported from China, is less expensive than MDMA and substituted by dealers to increase profits.
A three-month investigation that led to the raids was conducted by members of the prosecutor’s Narcotic Task Force, along with the federal Department of Homeland Security and Fort Lee and Edgewater police.
The six-count indictment includes charges of money laundering, drug possession with the intent to sell it and destroying or altering evidence.
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