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Mahwah Route 287 Traffic Stop Leads To $30,000 Seized As Alleged Drug Money

MAHWAH, N.J. -- A routine Mahwah police traffic stop produced $30,000 in suspected drug proceeds, authorities said.

Joelvis Acosta

Joelvis Acosta

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Courtesy MAHWAH PD

Officer Tyler Boucher stopped the 2007 Accura TSX with Pennsylvania license plates for “obstructing the flow of traffic and failing to keep right” on southbound Route 287 and got conflicting stories from the driver and passenger, Police Chief James N. Batelli said Wednesday.

Boucher also spotted several cell phones in the vehicle, he said, so the officer got consent from the driver to search it.

K-9 Remco was dispatched and “hit on several areas of the vehicle, indicating a positive indication for the odor of narcotics,” the chief said.

Found was a plastic bag in the rear passenger compartment containing the cash, he said.

Police charged the driver, 26-year-old Joelvis Acosta of Allentown, PA, “transporting and possessing property derived from criminal activity,” Batelli said.

They also gave him several traffic summonses and released him pending a court hearing.

“The cash was seized pending the outcome of the criminal trial and a civil forfeiture hearing,” the chief said.

The passenger was released without charges.

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