2 Arrested, $45K In Cocaine Seized In Mercer County: Prosecutor

Two people were arrested and $45,000 in cocaine and a handgun were seized on Wednesday following a two-month investigation, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced on Thursday. Over the course of the investigation, detectives said they learned that 35-year-old Nathaniel Bethea regularly obtained cocaine in Newark and sold it in Trenton.

On Wednesday, members of the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force monitored one such trip, which Bethea took with 48-year-old Ricqui Watkins, of Willingboro, in Bethea’s 2014 BMW, according to authorities. Task force members saw Bethea pick up the cocaine and return to Mercer County, where he was stopped after exiting the New Jersey Turnpike for 195 West, authorities said.

Detectives said they saw Bethea attempt to put a clear plastic bag into the pocket of his cargo shorts. However, that bag fell out of his shorts as detectives were removing him from his car, revealing 450 grams of suspected cocaine, authorities said. Detectives said he was also in possession of $689 in cash.

Detectives then obtained and executed search warrants for Bethea’s home in Hamilton and the cocaine supplier’s house in Newark. Detectives said they found paperwork at Bethea’s Trenton home and a Glock handgun loaded with a 50-round drum magazine, three 30-round magazines and a kilogram press in Newark. The BMW was seized as drug proceeds.

Bethea and Watkins were each charged with numerous narcotic related offenses. The prosecutor’s office has filed motions to detain both men.

Onofri commended all the agencies involved in the investigation and arrests, including the Drug Enforcement Administration HIDTA 4 and the Hamilton, Princeton and Trenton police departments, under the command of his Special Investigations Unit.

The attached images of Nathaniel Bethea and Ricqui Watkins were provided by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office