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Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG
Seven people have been arrested in the dismantling two human trafficking rings, one in North Jersey and one in South Jersey, authorities said.
The rings were based in Essex County and Cumberland County, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Khailah Meekins, 21 and Donte Barkley, 28, both Newark residents, trafficked two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Essex County, Platkin said. Meekins and Barkley arranged sexual encounters for the girls through mobile apps that included online ads featuring nude photos of the minors. The girls would be…
Newark Man Gets 4+ Years For Distributing Cocaine, Fentanyl: Feds
A 37-year-old Newark man was sentenced to 4.8 years in prison on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for distributing cocaine and fentanyl in 2022, authorities said.
In December 2022, Carlos Gonzalez and another individual conspired to distribute approximately one kilogram of cocaine and 100 grams of fentanyl and were arrested shortly after arriving at an agreed-upon location in Kearny to complete the sale, US Attorney Phillip Sellinger said.
After their arrests, a search of Gonzalez’s home and an apartment uncovered two loaded firearms, an unloaded firearm, ammunition, drug packaging materials, a…
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says
A 35-year-old Mercer County man is facing a slew of charges after investigators uncovered $1.1 million in drugs, five handguns, and $65,000 in cash from him, authorities said.
James Nalbone Jr., 35, of Hamilton Township, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 7, following a month-long investigation, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said.
Detectives detained Nalbone at his home on Byron Avenue and executed a search warrant, Hilton said. Sgt. Tom Paglione's K-9 partner, Indy, gave positive indications of a drug odor at multiple locations within the premises, poli…
Four Newark Men Robbed Postal Worker At Gunpoint: Feds
Four Newark men were arrested and charged on Thursday, Aug. 1 with robbing a postal worker at gunpoint last November, authorities said.
Last November, three people, including Troy Corbett, 28, and Dyshawn Williams, 28 stole the victim's cell phone, keys and wallet, containing a credit card and debit card, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. The robbery is a federal crime, since it impeded the postal worker from delivering mail, interfering with interstate commerce, Sellinger said.
After the robbery, Antwuan Brown, 24, and Karleem Stamps, 25, used the stolen debit card to make separate purc…
NJ Woman Who Dealt Meth, Cocaine Via FedEx Gets 10 Years, US Attorney Says
A 32-year-old Newark woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, July 11, after being convicted of possessing cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, authorities said.
In March 2021, two FedEx parcels addressed to a "John Brown" in Newark were intercepted by law enforcement and found to contain cocaine, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said. An undercover officer disguised as a FedEx driver delivered the package of cocaine to Mahogany Hawkins, Sellinger said.
Officers showed up at Hawkins' place again, but when they identified themselves as law enforcement, Hawki…
Again: Big Purple Bud Bus Guy, Woman Arrested After Series Of Raids Across NJ, NY, Cops Say
The New York owner of a popular cannabis company known for its fleet of purple buses and vans was taken into custody, as was a woman, on Wednesday, July 10, following a series of raids across New Jersey and New York, authorities said.
Searches on Bill Schlette’s Bud Bus Inc. locations Hewitt, Manahawkin, Keyport, and West Nyack, NY turned up $200,000 in cash, according to West Milford Police Capt. Parrello.
Back in May, West Milford police executed search warrants at five Bud Bus locations in town where 150 pounds of marijuana were seized, along with $11,000 in cash, police said. A warrant …
Mass Amounts Of Cocaine, $17K Seized From Mom-Son Duo In Bloomfield, Newark SWAT Raids: Cops
Detectives have put a stop to one family's cocaine distribution business in a series of raids across Essex County Tuesday, July 9, authorities said.
More than 10,000 vials of cocaine, several hundred grams of cocaine, $17,600 in cash and a handgun with an extended magazine were seized by detectives, ultimately leading to charges against Edwin Medina, 32 and his mother, Sandra Almodovar, 51, both of Newark, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II announced.
Detectives from the ECPO Narcotics Task Force first seized more than a kilo of suspected cocaine in a series of…
Gangster Parolee Busted With Heroin, Firearm In Jersey City: Feds
Two Jersey City men have been charged with distributing cocaine and heroin as part of a street gang, authorities said.
Anthony Phillips, 31, a.k.a. "Ant" and Shannon Tisdale a.k.a. "Doonk" were arrested after law enforcement began investigating drug distribution in the area of Lexington and Bergen Avenues in Jersey City by Lex Mob, a neighborhood gang, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
On Wednesday, April 24, law enforcement saw Tisdale and Phillips distributing drugs in Lexington and then both fled when confronted by police, Sellinger said.
During the pursuit, police saw Phillips r…
Newark Ex-Con Admits Dealing Heroin, Cocaine, Firearm Possession, Feds Say
A 34-year-old Newark man recently pleaded guilty to dealing cocaine and heroin, and possessing a firearm despite being a convicted felon, authorities said.
In Jan. 2021, law enforcement recovered envelopes containing heroin, jugs containing cocaine and a loaded firearm from Naiem Moore's vehicle, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
Moore had used the same firearm in a shooting and attempted assault in Sept. 2020, Sellinger said.
Moore pleaded guilty to two counts of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession with intent t…
Busted: Reputed Trinitarios Members Living In Fort Lee Charged In Major Drug Ring Takedown
A trio of Trinitarios street gang members who shared an apartment in Fort Lee slung fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin on both sides of the Hudson River before being busted last week, federal authorities charged.
Ernesto Adon Martinez, 38, Luis Arismedy Gomez Torres, 28, and Deury Luis Gomez Torres, 25, drove back and forth "on a near-daily basis" between Fort Lee and an apartment just off Dyckman Street in the Fort George section of Manhattan where drugs were packaged and stashed, they said.The Trinitarios emerged in New York City in the 1990s as protection against rival gangs such as th…
Nine NJ Gang Members Busted With Fentanyl, Coke, More: Feds
Nine reputed members and associates of the Sex, Money, Murder street gang were charged by Homeland Security agents in New Jersey with peddling fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine at an open-air drug market.
Working with local law enforcers, agents with HSI Investigations Newark homed in on a neighborhood on West 3rd Street in Plainfield where the subset of the Bloods controlled the drug trade, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
For months, they witnessed and recorded sales, conducted undercover buys -- some by confidential informants -- and analyzed phone records, the U.S. attorney said.
…
Man Who Drove 12 Pounds Of Heroin, Fentanyl All The Way From Cali Busted In Bergen County: Feds
A California man was minutes from a dropoff after driving more than a dozen pounds of fentanyl and heroin cross country to New Jersey when he was stopped in Fort Lee for running a stop sign, authorities said.
Timothy Alan Blank, 54, of Reseda, CA, made it 2,800 miles before Fort Lee police pulled his SUV over in Englewood Cliffs north of Sylvan and Myrtle avenues last Friday, March 8, according to a federal complaint.
A Bergen County Sheriff's K-9 directed officers to the trunk, where it says they found the five kilos wrapped in five bricks.
Blank collected the wrapped $195,000 of heroin a…
