Members of the New Jersey State Police Trafficking North Unit assigned to the Opioid Enforcement Task Force stopped a Nissan Rogue on the highway at 4:45 p.m. Monday, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday.
They found roughly $44,000 in cash in two secret compartments built into the vehicle, Grewal said.
After taking both occupants into custody, the troopers executed a search warrant at the motel, where the attorney general said they found the coke and an additional $75,562.
Carlos Suarez, 44, of Boston, and Erasmo Colon-Rodriguez, 38, of Lawrence, were charged with first-degree cocaine possession with the intent to distribute it, as well as money laundering and conspiracy. Both remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail.
Grewal said they'll be prosecuted by the state Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crimes Bureau.
He also thanked the State Police K-9 Unit, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, and South Hackensack police for their assistance.
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