17,000 Doses Of Heroin Seized In Big Fair Lawn Bust: Cops

FAIR LAWN, NJ — Authorities seized 17,000 doses of heroin, a kilogram of cocaine and various drug paraphernalia Thursday from a borough storage facility as part of a two-month investigation by the New Jersey State Police, authorities announced Friday.

The heroin and cocaine is valued at $375,000, authorities said.

Douglas Watson, 41, of Hawthorne and Wellington Moya, 44, of New York City were arrested and charged with various drug possession and intent to distribute charges, New Jersey State Police said.

Detectives from the State Police Trafficking Central and North units stopped Watson and Moya as they entered a storage facility on Wagaraw Road, police said.

Police found 337 bricks of heroin, a .22-caliber handgun, a kilo press, and additional drug paraphernalia inside the storage unit, police said.

“The amount of heroin seized in the storage facility alone amounts to nearly 17,000 individual doses,” said State Police commanding officer Col. Patrick Callahan. “Fortunately, these doses will never make it into the hands of the public thanks to the diligent work of the State Police Trafficking Central and North units, who work tirelessly to stop the flow of drugs into our communities.”

During the traffic stop, State Police troopers seized a kilogram of cocaine (about 2.2 pounds), 30 grams of heroin, and $5,200, police said.

Moya and Watson were charged with possession of heroin, possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine. Watson was additionally charged with possession of a handgun.

They were lodged in the Bergen County pending pending a bail detention hearing, police said.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office will prosecute the case.

“While we are taking a multi-faceted approach to combating the opioid epidemic that also involves prevention and treatment strategies, we remain fully committed to the type of proactive investigative efforts that enabled the New Jersey State Police to arrest these defendants,” said state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal. “Heroin traffickers are callously profiting while lives are lost across New Jersey, and we are determined to bring them to justice.”

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photos: Wellington Moya, 44, of New York, New York (left) and Douglas Watson, 41, of Hawthorne (New Jersey State Police)