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Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said on Thursday that the multi-jurisdictional investigation of narcotics distribution and violent crime resulted in recovering 11 guns, 1,000 grams of heroin, 1,000 grams of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of marijuana, six vehicles and more than $22,000 in cash.
“Operation Eight-Ball was an enormous investigative endeavor and as a result, many violent offenders have been taken off of the street,” Onofri said said Prosecutor Onofri.
Trenton Police Director Sheilah A. Coley said, “In just this operation alone, their hard work yielded multiple firearms, high-capacity magazines, kilograms of narcotics, and more than 15 arrests, six of which are connected to several homicides."
Last spring, as the number of fatal shootings in Trenton began rising, Onofri said, "We set out to expose trends and connections that might be responsible for triggering the uptick in violence.”
The probe was dubbed “Operation Eight-Ball” after the eight-ball logo used by Trenton’s H-Block, a violent criminal street gang responsible for numerous shootings and murders in the capital city, according to Onofri.
Since November, more than 40 warranted searches were made of vehicles and homes in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the prosecutor said.
The investigation continued into 2021 and last week, warranted searches were conducted in Trenton and Ewing, New Jersey, as well as Bristol and Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
According to Onofri, the total retail value of the confiscated drugs is $228,000.
The heroin is valued at $60,000; the methamphetamine is valued at $100,000; and the marijuana at $68,000, Onofri said.
Approximately 24 bank accounts in connection to the investigation were frozen and continue to be investigated by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Economic Crime Unit, according to Onofri.
In addition to Trenton, suspects were arrested from Bucks County, Pa.; and Atlantic and Gloucester counties in New Jersey.
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