South Brunswick Home Was Hub Of Nat'l Pill Ring, Police Say

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Police say a South Brunswick home on Greenview Road was quietly serving as the hub of a massive nationwide illegal pill ring, one that was selling homemade Xanax, GHB (steroids), LSD and ketamine on the dark web to buyers across the country.

That home was raided on April 3, along with homes in Jamesburg, Old Bridge, Jackson, Asbury Park and Vineland.

The Greenview Road resident, Chester Anderson, 44, has been named by both South Brunswick police and the Manhattan district attorney as the leader of the ring. Police say his counterfeit pill ring raked in $2.3 million total. He has been charged with one count of being a leader of a narcotics trafficking network and two counts of maintaining a controlled dangerous substance facility, among myriad other charges.

Police say that Anderson's South Brunswick home was the base of operations, and the pills and drugs were manufactured in the properties in Jamesburg, Old Bridge, Jackson, Asbury Park and Vineland. When they raided the Greenview Drive home on April 3, they found multiple computers and servers in the basement, which Anderson used to sell the drugs on the dark web, said South Brunswick Deputy Chief James Ryan.

In the other properties, police seized approximately 420,000 to 620,000 of Xanax tablets. Police said they also found 500 glassines of fentanyl-laced heroin and methamphetamine, ketamine and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), an illegal steroid.

Inside the other homes, such as in Jamesburg and Vineland, police also said they found drug-making equipment, including four pill presses and two industrial mixers, and thousands of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency.

Anderson and his associates would order the materials to make the drugs through the dark web, manufacture them at facilities throughout New Jersey and then sell them back on the dark web.

Anderson operated two dark web storefronts, using the screename "sinmed," said the Manhattan DA.

They had buyers in 43 states. After making the drugs in New Jersey, Anderson and his team would ship hundreds of thousands of pills to their customers at a time. They were paid $2.3 million in cryptocurrency, which police say they laundered by using preloaded debit cards and withdrawing cash at ATMs in Manhattan and New Jersey.

Police say one of Anderson's associates, Ronald McCarty, 51 of Jackson, also operated the business largely out of his Jersey Shore store, Wireless Spot on Main Street in Asbury Park.

This was massive, 18-month investigation that actually started in Manhattan, when police there started noticing suspicious activity at ATMs. They were able to track the cryptocurrency to Anderson's illegal Internet store, run out of his South Brunswick home, police said.

"This was a massive case that involved starting with a few breadcrumbs and having it lead to so much more," said Ryan.

All the properties were raided in a coordinated search warrant execution by police at 4:30 a.m. April 3. More than 100 people officers were involved in the timed raid of all six homes, and even the U.S. Secret Service was involved, as well as the U.S. Postal Service.

“This case involved local, county, state, and federal law enforcement working collectively for 18 months to identify, track, and dismantle this operation," said South Brunswick police Chief Raymond Hayducka. "The suspects traveled the dark web in the hopes of concealing their crimes but investigators tracked them both online and with physical surveillance to crack this case."

“When our office received reports of suspicious activity at ATMs in New York and New Jersey, our talented investigators followed the money, using our state-of-the-art Cyber Lab to uncover a dark web counterfeit pill seller whose $2.3 million operation spanned the U.S.," said Manhattan DA Cy Vance. "Not only is this the first time state prosecutors in New York have taken down a dark web storefront, this takedown represents the largest pill seizure in New Jersey’s history. If you are engaging in illicit activity on the dark web, you are on notice: we know how to find you, we know how to put you out of business, and we know how to hold you criminally accountable.”

Chester Anderson, 44, of South Brunswick is charged with (1) Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network, (2) Maintaining a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) Facility, (3) Manufacturing, Distributing, Dispensing CDS, (4) Possession with intent to distribute over 100 prescription pills, (5) Endangering the Welfare of Juvenile, (6) Maintaining a fortified CDS manufacturing facility, (7) Distribution of CDS in a School Zone, (8) Possession of Steroids, and CDS paraphernalia.

Jarrette Codd, 41, Jamesburg is charged with (1) Possession of MDMA, (2) Maintaining a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) Facility, (3) Possession with intent to distribute over 100 prescription pills possession, (4) Possession of Steroids and CDS paraphernalia.

Ronald MacCarty, 51, of Jackson is charged with Possession of Steroids. All 3 suspects are currently being held in New York were they face money laundering and conspiracy charges.

Related: NJ's Largest Pill Bust Ever: Up To 620K 'Xanax' Tablets, Heroin