Hoboken Cocaine Bust Sees Local Man Charged With Dealing: Prosecutors

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Hoboken man, 31, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with 16 counts of possession with the intent to distribute/distribution (cocaine) after a 2-month investigation, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

The Prosecutor's Office said that Michael Cruz, 31, of Hoboken, was arrested after a search warrant was executed Wednesday at his Washington Street apartment, and investigators recovered more than 100 grams of suspected cocaine worth $7,000.

The Hudson County Narcotics Task Force and the Hoboken Police Department made the arrest following a months-long investigation regarding the sale of illegal drugs, prosecutors said.

"During the course of the investigation," the Prosecutor's Office said, "Cruz sold cocaine to an undercover officer on multiple dates in December 2022 and January 2023."

Cruz was charged with:

• Six counts of possession with the intent to distribute/distribution (cocaine)
• Five counts of possession with the intent to distribute/distribution (cocaine)
  within 500 feet of public property
• Five counts of possession with the intent to distribute/distribution (cocaine) within 1,000 feet of a school
• Possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent to distribute

Cruz is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance, prosecutors said.

County Prosecutor Esther Suarez credited the Narcotics Task Force and the Hoboken Police Department with the investigation and arrest.