37°
Detective Sgt. Jared Shatkin and Detective Nick Mercoun found an older-model Honda Accord with two occupants over a line in a Midland Street parking lot just off Essex Street between Routes 80 and 17 around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, Capt. James M. DePreta said.
As they approached, a passenger quickly ducked into a nearby business, he said.
The detectives immediately spotted a plastic bag filled with what turned out to be more than two pounds of cocaine on the front seat, DePreta said.
They arrested the driver, Reynaldo Coortorreal, 45, who the captain said was carrying a half-ounce more coke in a sandwich bag.
They then seized the passenger, Frandelyn Moyaduerge, 28, inside the business, he said.
Cortorreal and Moyaduerge, who live in the Bronx, were sent to the Bergen County Jail, where records list both as Dominican nationals. Federal authorities hadn't issued any detainers for them as of Thursday, Feb. 1, jail records show.
Cortorreal is charged with first-degree possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, among other counts. Moyaduerge is charged with drug conspiracy.
Rochelle Park Police Chief Dean Pinto praised his detectives for "intercepting a large-scale narcotics transaction and removing dangerous substances from our community."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Elizabeth and receive free news updates.
