15 Arrested At Toms River Motel In Quality-Of-Life Raid: Police

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A raid early Thursday at the Red Carpet Inn led to the arrests of 15 people on drug charges, Toms River police said.

The raid happened at 5 a.m. Thursday, said Ralph Stocco, spokesman for the Toms River Police Department. Authorities executed three court-authorized search warrants at the motel, located at 2 West Water Street as the result of an ongoing investigation.

The 15 people — 11 men and four women — were charged with offenses including drug distribution, drug possession, and some were arrested on outstanding warrants, Stocco said.

The names and specific charges were not being released immediately to protect the ongoing investigation and protect the safety of undercover officers, Stocco said. Some of those arrested were being held at the Ocean County Jail, while others have been released on charges pending a future court date, he said.

In addition to the arrests, several fire code violations were found at the motel and are being addressed, Stocco said.

The investigation was part of efforts by the recently formed Quality of Life Task Force, which includes members of the Criminal Investigative Bureau, the Special Enforcement Team, the township's Division of Fire Prevention, and the Code Enforcement/ Zoning Department, Stocco said.

"This task force will continually address locations within the township that have been identified as being habitual places of concern for criminal activity, public safety, municipal code violations, and quality of life issues," Stocco said. "We anticipate that additional locations and investigations will be initiated in the coming month."

The Red Carpet Inn was investigated as a result of what Stocco said were "numerous" narcotics deals that were out in the open as well as complaints from citizens.

The raid was conducted by the Toms River Police Department Emergency Services Unit, the New Jersey State Police Troop D Parkway Region Criminal Investigation Unit, the NJ State Police TEAMS Unit, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Toms River Township Quality of Life Task Force, he said.

This article has been updated to correct the name of the motel. It was reported incorrectly by Patch. It also has been updated to correct the basic math error. We regret the error. Immensely.

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