Ridgefield PD: Cellphone Stop Turns Up 1½ Pounds Of Pot

RIDGEFIELD, N.J. -- A Ridgefield police officer found a pound and a half of pot after stopping a driver who was using a handheld cellphone, authorities said.

Jerry DeMarco

02/01/2018 8:00 a.m.

Officer Daniel Berger "detected a strong odor of raw marijuana" after stopping the 2008 Grey Mercedes on southbound Routes 1 & 9 in the middle of the afternoon, Police Chief Thomas Gallagher said.

The officer requested a Bergen County sheriff's K-9 unit, which confirmed cause for a search that turned up the marijuana, Gallagher said.

The driver, 33-year-old Jean C. Labanda of Fairview, was processed on drug possession charges and released, pending a court hearing, under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.

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