Massive Heroin Ring Near Essex County School; 3 Plead Guilty

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A trio of Essex County men have admitted to their roles in a “massive drug distribution ring” responsible for dealing millions of dollars’ worth of heroin out of a residential building near a high school in Newark. Buyers came from several different counties across the state to purchase drugs at the "well-known" hotspot, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 5, Quawee Jones, aka “Hatman,” 34, of Newark, Shaahid Cureton, aka “Dills,” 33, of Newark, and Rashard Johnson, aka “Drama,” 39 of East Orange, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to distribute heroin, the U.S Attorney’s Office (NJ) stated.

According to court documents and statements, the three men operated a "heroin distribution marketplace" out of the first-floor hallway of a residential building at 25 Johnson Ave in Newark. The building is just a few doors away from the Malcolm X. Shabazz High School and the Terrell James Park playground.

Prosecutors said that the conspiracy was led by Jones and another member of the ring, Almalik Anderson, who, along with other heroin dealers that worked with them – including Cureton and Johnson – took advantage of the building’s location on a dead-end street, making it difficult for law enforcement to infiltrate the distribution network despite a “constant stream of buyers” entering the building at all hours of the day.

According to prosecutors:

“Lookouts were paid by the defendants to alert them to any police activity coming onto the block from the only access point on Clinton Avenue. Police could not infiltrate the building without lookouts detecting their presence and signaling the sellers. Members of the drug trafficking organization also set up an escape route whereby residents were paid to keep their doors unlocked. The dealers in the hallways would run through the building and exit via fire escapes at the rear of the building or simply hide within the apartments before police could apprehend them.”

The drug conspiracy operated nearly 24-hours a day and was “well-known among heroin users, who came from several different counties across New Jersey,” prosecutors said.

Jones, Cureton and Johnson worked in carefully planned shifts in order to handle the constant flow of heroin buyers. The heroin was sold in various “brands,” which were stamped onto the glassine envelopes that contained the heroin, allowing buyers to identify and purchase the brands that they preferred, prosecutors said.

Jones, Cureton and Johnson sold, on average, one to two kilograms of heroin per week between January 2013 and November 2015. Based upon the quantities sold, information from court-authorized wiretaps, and other evidence, the profit from the heroin distribution at 25 Johnson Avenue was estimated to be between $4 million and $7 million a year, prosecutors said.

The drug conspiracy charge to which Jones pleaded guilty carries a statutory minimum prison term of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. The drug conspiracy charges that Cureton and Johnson pleaded guilty to carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that 16 defendants have been indicted and convicted for their roles in the same heroin distribution conspiracy, including Anderson.

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