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Now police throughout Bergen are taking steps to stop a growing legion of teenage couriers, take them into custody and seize both the drugs and their vehicles.
Last week, Tenafly police caught an inner-city delivery trio in town with 132 bags of heroin and 10 bags of crack cocaine.
This came just days after they arrested another man in the same car with 40 bags of heroin, two bags of pot and two of cocaine headed to a local address.
“It’s the new trend — the dealers are delivering to Bergen County now,” Tenafly Capt. John Trainor told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. “Kids are being recruited by higher ups to make the deliveries for them.”
Last weekend, Tenafly police arrested 18-year-old Isaiah Taylor after he claimed ownership of heroin, pot and cocaine following a traffic stop. Another passenger and the female driver were released.
Days later, the crew returned without Taylor, authorities said.
Officers who were advised to keep a lookout for the same blue 2012 Hyundai Elantra pulled it over and arrested the driver, Kanahisha Gabbidon, also 18. They also took a boy and girl, both 17, into custody. All are from Paterson.
Gabbidon remained held on $80,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with distribution of heroin and cocaine and several possession counts, including in a school zone.
The teens were taken to the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center in Teterboro after police served them with delinquency complaints for the same offenses.
“We’re aggressively trying to combat this,” Trainor said. “We have some excellent officers here who are very committed to it.”
(PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Police countywide urge citizens to call them whenever they see suspicious people, vehicles or activity. They’d rather respond to a call that turns out to be nothing than miss an opportunity to keep heroin and other drugs from taking root in your neighborhood.)
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