NJ takes down 2 major drug-dealing operations — 28 arrested

Authorities have broken up a major drug distribution ring in Trenton.

During a news conference at State Police headquarters in Ewing on Thursday, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Operation West End resulted in the arrests of 18 suspects and the seizure of 22 guns, including five assault rifles, $52,000 in cash as well as 11,000 doses of heroin and fentanyl and 750 grams of cocaine.

“We linked the heroin seized to 19 overdoses in the region, including 10 fatal overdoses,” he said.

He said the logo on the heroin wax folds said AK-47.

He also pointed out authorities seized 18 large-capacity magazines.

“These devices are banned in New Jersey precisely because they allow a shooter to fire a large number of rounds without ever having to reload," he said.

Grewal said to counter the opioid and gun violence epidemics plaguing the Garden State, law enforcement agencies are working together more closely than in the past.

“We are sharing information and sharing intelligence, exchanging tips and leads, and working our way up to the most significant criminals and the most significant targets.”

He said the Trenton Violent Crime Initiative created two months ago combines the resources of “federal, state, county and local law enforcement partners, and is focused on one shared goal and one shared promise: to make this capital city safer for all of our residents.”

Attorney General Grewal also announced 10 individuals have been arrested in connection with Operation 4K Boyz after the state Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson police dismantled two sophisticated opioid mills in the city of Paterson, seizing more than 27,000 individual doses of heroin, one kilo of bulk heroin, and nearly 400 grams of fentanyl.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assisted in that takedown.

New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice director Veronica Allende said that “each gun we take off the streets is potentially a murder or serious shooting that we prevent, each dose of heroin that we seize, is potentially an overdose averted.”

Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley said while the war on crime has not been won yet, “we are committed to reducing senseless violence and fear being perpetrated against our citizens and we will continue to fight until the war has been won.”

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com