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Those charged in the federally-led offensive range in age from 37 to 60.
They come from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania but operated primarily in and around Union County, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
The multi-pronged, eight-month operation relied on all levels of law enforcement, from federal agents to local police who watched and documented dozens of drugs deals, the U.S. attorney said.
It included a series of seizures that reached a climax earlier this week with a barrage of court-approved searches at various locations – among them, a drug mill in the Bronx where the 10 kilos of fentanyl were found, Sellinger said.
Figuring a gram of fentanyl costs between $150 to $200 on the street (for a single dose), the estimated retail value of the seized drugs -- if sold in doses -- runs from roughly $2.7 million to $3.6 million.
Charged with drug conspiracy are:
- Lance Baker, 54, of Perth Amboy;
- Rooks Crawford, 57, of Linden;
- Michael Williams, 54, of Roselle;
- Tyrone Gilliam, 60, Lewis Martinez-Berroa, 38, and Earl Riley, 58, all of Elizabeth;
- Derrick Gilliam, 48, of Alburtis, PA;
- Abinader Liriano-Balbuena, 37, of the Bronx.
An even longer list involves those agencies that participated:
- the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;
- the Drug Enforcement Administration;
- the U.S. Secret Service;
- the Union County Prosecutor’s Office;
- the Union County Sheriff’s Office;
- the Union County Police Department;
- the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office;
- police departments from Elizabeth, Linden, Perth Amboy, Scotch Plains and Summit.
Handling the case for the government are Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Mezzanotte and Robert Frazer of Sellinger’s Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark and Christopher Fell of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
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