Cops Seize $750K of Marijuana in Bergen County, NJ

Police seized $750,000 worth of marijuana Thursday that was being transported through Bergen County, authorities said.

The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and New Jersey State Police were investigating information that a large quantity of marijuana was being brought to a storage facility in Clifton, Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said.

Authorities identified a box truck used for the delivery and its driver, Pedram Bousheri, and watched the truck while it traveled through Bergen County, Berdnik said.

The SUV was traveling with the truck, and the vehicles were stopped in Route 17 in Paramus, the sheriff said. The SUV was accelerating and weaving in and out of traffic, Berdnik said.

As detectives approached the SUV, the driver, Vimal Lingisetty, 30, of Nanuet, New York, looked like he was moving something under his shirt, Berdnik said. Detectives ordered Lingisetty to show his hands, but he was holding nothing, the sheriff said.

A cell phone fell to the ground, which Lingisetty tried to destroy, and he resisted even after he was handcuffed, Berdnik said.

Both vehicles were transported to the Passaic County Sheriff’s Headquarters in Wayne for further investigation.

Police found three wooden crates in the truck that contained three old vending machines that were hiding 250 pounds of marijuana, worth $750,000, and 88 vials of liquid of THC, Berdnik said.

Bousheri, 34, of Wellington, Florida, was charged with possession of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute. Lingisetty was charged with eluding, resisting and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Both men were given a $250,000 bail with no 10 percent option. Lingisetty had an additional $100,000 bail set for charges in Paramus.

"I want to thank the New Jersey State Police for assisting in this very successful joint investigation," Berdnik stated. "The detectives from both agencies did a great job in not only making two arrests, but in seizing a large amount of narcotics."

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Vimal Lingisetty