2 Manchester Men Arrested On Drug Charges In Brick: Police

BRICK, NJ — Two Manchester men are facing drug charges following two investigations Thursday by the Brick Township Police Department's Street Crimes Unit, Brick police said Saturday.

Adrian J. Woodward, 33, and Louis Vargas, 43, both of Manchester, were arrested in separate incidents, Sgt. Jim Kelly said.

Woodward was pulled over near the Brick Reservoir after detectives saw suspicious activity near a construction zone and two vehicles sped off. Officers found 34 grams of cocaine, 82 grams of marijuana and packaging materials for the resale of the drugs in his vehicle, Kelly said.

He was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, possession with intent to distribute the marijuana and cocaine and multiple motor vehicle violations and is being held in the Ocean County Jail, Kelly said.

Vargas was arrested earlier in the evening, after another suspicious incident led authorities to pull over the Cadillac 300 he was driving, Kelly said. He was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, and received a summons for motor vehicle violations, he said.

Vargas and Eli Brown-Casalan, 42, of Lakewood, were arrested after detectives saw two people meet briefly in a parking lot at the Maple Leaf Apartments about 6 p.m. Thursday, Kelly said. Detectives saw one person throw a drawstring bag into the back seat of a white Chrysler 300 that then left the area at high speed, and the car was pulled over in the area of Burnt Tavern Road and Lanes Mill Road.

Brown-Casalan was charged with possession of cocaine, which was packaged for resale, possession of MDMA (Ecstasy), possession of marijuana, which was packaged for resale, and possession with intent to distribute those drugs, Kelly said.

In the incident where Woodward was arrested, the second vehicle was stopped on Van Zile Road, and the driver, Madison Struyf, 20, of Brick, was arrested after officers found drugs. Struyf was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, possession of gabapentin, possession of fraudulent government documents and multiple motor vehicle violations, Kelly said.

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