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Among those arrested, police said, was a 66-year-old user from Ridgefield (Bergen County) who bought eight heroin folds and a vial of crack at the corner of Van Houten and Summer streets behind the city public library.
Citizen complaints about “rampant” drug dealing at all hours of the day and night brought Narcotics Division detectives to the neighborhood, where they also seized crack, pot, more than a pound of THC edibles and nearly $3,000 in proceeds, City Police Director Jerry Speziale said.
The open-air drug market had “disrupted the residents’ quality of life and placed them in fear for their safety,” Speziale said.
Along with the heroin, police seized 22 vials and a baggie of crack, 27 bags of pot, 92 Xanax pills and 40 Percocet pills, the director said.
Accused major area players pinched included Daequan Owen, 24, and De’Mice Hodges, 19, each of whom was charged with 35 counts involving the sale and possession of heroin, crack, edibles and pills near the city’s main library and the Edward W. Kilpatrick Elementary School.
Police also charged 56-year-old Floyd Stevens of Clifton with selling and possessing marijuana in the same area.
Also arrested, on minor possession charges, were two North Bergen residents and one each from Garfield, Ridgefield and Morris Plains.
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