Bergen Hookah Lounge Owners Arrested During Raid

Ten people, including a Paramus man, were arrested on various charges during a raid as part of an underage drinking and smoking investigation at a Haledon hookah lounge April 1, police said.

Chintan Patel, 29, of Paramus and the two other owners of Cafe Daze in Haledon were charged with serving or offering alcohol to minors, selling tobacco products to persons younger than 19 and maintaining a nuisance, Haledon Police Lt. George Guzman Jr. said in a press release.

The other owners are: Darshil Patel, 21, of Elmwood Park and Mayank Rana, 21, of Passaic, Guzman said.

Nearly two dozen police officers conducted "Operation Smoke" at the Haledon Avenue cafe from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. April 1, Guzman said. The operation consisted of detectives surveying the business and performing an unannounced spot check he said.

Cafe Daze does not have a license to serve alcohol, it is a "BYOB" establishment, Guzman said.

Six people were charged with underage drinking:

• Melvin Tejada, 19, of Prospect Park
• Jose Cordero, 19, of Passaic
• Gretchen Garcia, 19, of Haledon
• Kenneth Guardia, 18, of Clifton
• Amanda Gonzales, 19, of Haledon
• Darshan Patel, 20, of Bergenfield

Andrew Manley, 25, of Englewood, had a $3,000 criminal warrant out for his arrest and he was charged, Guzman said.

All charged individuals were released on summonses pending a court date in Haledon Municipal Court and Manley posted bail and was released, Guzman said.

"We expect all of our businesses to remain in compliance with state laws and local ordinances," Haledon Police Chief Angelo Daniele said. "Our officers did a tremendous job conducting this detail."

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