14 Indicted In Family-Run South Jersey Heroin, Fentanyl Ring: AG

CAMDEN, NJ — A total of 14 people have been indicted as authorities dismantled a violent, family-run network they said trafficked heroin and fentanyl, and is responsible for two fatal overdoses.

The group, which sold heroin and fentanyl in wax bags with the branding “Bad Boys” and “SpongeBob,” among others, was also in possession of a "ghost gun," according to authorities.

The group sold hundreds of single-dose wax folds of heroin and fentanyl in and around North Camden beginning in January 2019, according to Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal.

Twelve people were indicted on charges of first-degree racketeering, and two others face weapons charges in connection with the network that operated of North Camden, according to authorities.

At least six people, including one of the three leaders, are part of an extended family that lives in the area, authorities said. Other members of the ring may also be related. Two of the family members face gun charges.

The drug-trafficking network was connected to a total of three overdoses, including two that were fatal, authorities said.

Six guns were seized, including a ghost gun and plans to make other ghost guns, authorities said. Ghost guns are guns that are untraceable because they are not registered and don’t have serial numbers.

The operation was based on the 400 block of Grant Street, and operated in and around a section of North Camden that runs from Grant Street to Elm Street between Coopers Poynt School and Northgate II Park, authorities said.

Most of those involved in the operation were arrested in October during “Operation Strikeout,” a collaborative investigation involving local, state and federal authorities in South Jersey and Philadelphia.

Wilbert Segarra, 40 of Camden, and Luis I. Rosado, 28 of Camden, were the leaders of the network, according to authorities.

Segarra and Joseph Cooper Jr., 24 of Philadelphia, are also charged with attempted murder in the non-fatal shooting of a man from a rival gang at 27th and Howell Streets on May 24, 2019. Segarra fled the scene and was arrested on July 23 in Virginia. Authorities said he continued to help run the network from jail.

Segarra also faces a charge of first-degree leader of a narcotics trafficking network, which carries a sentence of life in prison, including 25 years without parole.

Authorities said Rosado took control of the network after the shooting, and took direction from Segarra while he was in jail. Rosado’s girlfriend, 32-year-old Meligza Cruz, was the operation’s primary “case worker,” as she managed the network’s day-to-day drug sales, authorities said.

She oversaw the transfer of the drugs from Rosado to the “set managers,” who then directed the street-level dealers. These “trappers” sold drugs directly to the buyers, authorities said.

Segarra, Rosado and Cruz are all charged with first-degree promoting organized street crime. They are all members of the G-Shine set of the Bloods street gang, authorities said.

Cruz is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, as authorities said she had her 1-year-old son in the car with her while selling drugs. Rosado is the child’s father, authorities said.

Cruz is a member of an extended family that lives in the neighborhood and participated in the network, authorities said. Maria Morales, Emanuel Morales, and Migdoel Morales-Cruz are all related as either siblings or cousins. Other ring members may also be related.

Jose Morales, 49 of Camden, and Jesus Morales Cruz, 34 of Philadelphia, are both also members of the family mentioned above. They are charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree possession of a defaced firearm in connection with a handgun that was seized during a traffic stop on May 8, 2019, as part of the investigation.

Jose Morales also faces a charge of second-degree possession of a weapon as a convicted felon in connection with that gun. Jose Morales was driving the car at the time, but Jesus Morales Cruz is the registered owner of the car.

Rosado and Cruz, were among eight people arrested during the execution of search warrants in Camden and Philadelphia on Oct. 4, authorities said. Segarra was already in jail on an attempted murder charge at the time. Most of the other defendants were arrested later.

At Rosado and Cruz’s home, authorities said they seized two semi-automatic handguns — including one with a defaced serial number — $2,960 in cash, and approximately 285 wax folds of heroin and fentanyl.

At a home on Whitaker Avenue in Philadelphia that Rosado called “the Office,” investigators said they seized 70 grams of pure fentanyl. Authorities labeled this home as an operational narcotics mill where the members of the network are said to have packaged the drugs.

“The Office” was equipped with sifters, scales, various cutting agents, wax folds, and five rubber ink stamps used to stamp the following brand names on wax folds: “Bad Boys,” “SpongeBob,” “Glizzy Gang,” “NS,” and “Two Guns,” authorities said. The heroin labeled “Bad Boys” was linked to the fatal overdoses, authorities said.

The “ghost gun” was seized at the heroin mill, along with two other semi-automatic pistols, authorities said. They also said they seized several large-capacity magazines — including a 50-round drum-type magazine — and polymer and schematic plans to manufacture ghost-gun assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols.

Segarra, Rosado, Cooper and all the members of the family were charged with first-degree racketeering. Others in the network who were also charged include:

• Ramon Saldana, 22, of Camden;
• Rafael Velazquez, 27, of Camden;
• Michael Canales, 23, of Camden;
• Angel Martinez, 34, of Camden; and
• Daniel Sanjurjo, Jr., 21, of Camden.

All 12 people charged with racketerring also face a charge of second-degree conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and, except for Segarra, are variously charged with additional second- and third-degree drug offenses.

Segarra, Rosado, Saldana, Canales, Martinez, Emanuel Morales and Jose Morales have all been ordered to be held until trial.