50°
The arrests and seizures come amid an announcement by Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik that his Quality of Life squad will furnish four officers a day from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days a week to answer public calls in Paterson.
Narcotics detectives using undercover vehicles were watching the area of East 19th Street between 17th Avenue and Market Street when a white Sprinter van driven by Julio Dela-Cruz, 44, of North Bergen pulled up, Berdnik said.
Moments later, Jaden Nickels, 21, of Paterson arrived in a Honda Civic with two passengers and double parked, the sheriff said.
Nickels handed Dela-Cruz two bundles of heroin and collected cash in exchange, Berdnik said.
Detectives let both vehicles leave the area before stopping the van at the corner of Madison Avenue and Cedar Street.
They found Dela-Cruz carrying two bundles of heroin stamped "BIG DICK" in purple ink and arrested him, Berdnik said.
They also arrested Nickels after finding him with three bricks and three bundles of the drug when they stopped the Civic at East 16th and Lyon streets, the sheriff said.
(NOTE: A bundle ordinarily contains 10 folds. A brick is five bundles.)
Nickels also had 44 zip-locking baggies of crack and $320 in cash, which were all seized, Berdnik said.
The detectives arrested Nickels along with his passengers -- identified as Michael Lopez and Zamair M. Johnson, both 21 of Paterson -- after finding a 9mm Ruger LC9 handgun in the center console and a .32-caliber Kel Tec on the floor behind the driver's seat, he said.
They also recovered two heroin bundles stamped "STAR TREK," another stamped "DOOMS Day," 30 Xanax without prescriptions and an assortment of other pills in a bag on the floor, Berdnik said.
DeLa-Cruz was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center for a medical evaluation prior to being sent to the Passaic County Jail.
The other four were sent to the county lockup to await first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson, the sheriff said.
All are charged with various drug and weapons offenses, he said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Saddle Brook-Elmwood Park and receive free news updates.
