Police Bust Second Heroin Mill In A Week In South Jersey: Officials

For the second time in a week, Camden County Police have dismantled a heroin mill in the city.

This one manufactured heroin and crack cocaine, and police also seized a cache of illegal guns during the bust on Wednesday, county officials said on Friday.

Five people were arrested after metro detectives and the Camden County Sheriff’s Department executed search warrants at two homes on the 100 block of North 25th Street.

Those arrested included: Dorian Johnson, 19, of Camden; Derrick Wallace, 52, of Camden; Erik Coleman, 25, of Pennsauken, Devonne Edwards, 26, of Camden and Quasan Jones, 21 of Camden.

All five were charged with four counts of unlawful possession of a weapon during a CDS offense, two counts of possession of a CDS, two counts of possession of a CDS with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a park, one count of maintaining a CDS manufacturing facility and one count of receiving stolen property.

Wallace and Edwards were additionally each charged with one count of certain persons not to have weapons based on previous drug distribution convictions.

Jones was charged with two additional counts of unlawful possession of a weapon during a CDS offense and one additional count of receiving stolen property.

At one of the homes, officers say they found six illegal guns, including:
- A loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun reported stolen;
- A .38 caliber Harrington & Richardson handgun;
- A loaded .45 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun;
- A loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun;
- A loaded .22 caliber Omega revolver reported stolen; and
- A loaded .22 caliber ROHM revolver.

At the same home, officers say they also recovered more than 500 rounds of ammunition, a quantity of unpackaged heroin and unpackaged crack cocaine, a total of 200 bags of packaged heroin and crack cocaine, more than $300 in cash and numerous items for packaging narcotics.

All five suspects were remanded to the Camden County Jail with the following bail amounts: Jones, $400,000 cash or bond; Coleman, $300,000 cash or bond; Edwards, $200,000 cash or bond; Johnson, $160,000 cash or bond; and Wallace, $150,000 cash or bond.

The raid came after an extensive investigation by detectives from the Camden County Police Department HIDTA Narco-Gang Unit, officials said.

Last week, police took down a heroin mill in the Whitman Park neighborhood of Camden. It had been distributing seven different stamps of heroin in the area, and police also eliminated a cache of illegal guns in the raid.

Patch file photo