90K Heroin Doses, $1.5M In Cash, Vehicles Seized In Massive Bust

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Nearly $850,000 in cash, vehicles worth more than $700,000 and a plethora of heroin, cocaine, pills and marijuana were seized in 33 locations around the state in the largest drug bust ever to originate in Ocean County, Prosecutor Joseph Coronato announced Friday.

The investigation, titled "Operation Heading Back," resulted in 31 people charged so far, authorities said. Of those, 28 are under arrest and three are fugitives, and authorities said more arrests are likely as a result of the yearlong investigation by the prosecutor's Special Operations Group, led by Capt. Jack Sramaty.

The investigation began with a simple arrest in Lakewood last year, Coronato said, and blossomed into a major investigation that led not only to other towns in Ocean County, but to North Jersey towns.

"We even traced it offshore," Coronato said, declining to give specifics.

The massive bust included investigations in Monmouth, Middlesex, Atlantic, Somerset, Hudson, Essex, Union and Passaic counties. They resulted from Ocean County's participation in the Drug Enforcement Administration's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area partnership, which brings added resources, Coronato said.

The search warrants were executed in the following towns, Coronato's office said; Piscataway accounted for 7 of the warrants: Brick, Jackson, Lakewood, Toms River, Eatontown, Howell, Neptune, Bloomfield , Jersey City, Little Falls, Newark, Parlin, Paterson, Piscataway, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Somerset and Totowa.

"This investigation is another example of how collaboration between law enforcement on all levels can make an impact in New Jersey," said Valerie A. Nickerson, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division. "The DEA Monmouth/Ocean HIDTA Task Force was formed for this exact reason, to bring additional resources to aid in the fight against drug trafficking in Ocean County. Our goal is to pursue those bringing these dangerous drugs into the region and to reduce the distribution and use of drugs within the county."

Coronato praised the coordination among the various agencies, which he said was critical not only in pulling off multiple raids at once — the search warrants were executed over the span of a couple of days, he said — but also in protecting the undercover officers who were part of the investigation.

"It was a huge undertaking," Sramaty said of the undercover work. "These are very selfless acts by these (investigators). It's very dangerous work."

"I extend the highest praise to my Special Operations Group, as well as every member of the operation," Coronato said. "The courage and resourcefulness they displayed in working to identify and arrest those charged is truly an outstanding testament to their dedication and commitment to protect our citizens.”

"This is the largest bust I've seen in 30 years," Piscataway Police Chief S.L. Cartmell said he said. Piscataway has had its issues, with 44 heroin overdoses and 39 naloxone saves in his town last year. The communication and support among the groups was what made the operation possible. "With seven search warrants in our town alone, we couldn't have done this by ourselves," Cartmell said.

Lakewood Police Chief Gregory H. Meyer, in whose town the investigation originated, praised his officers for their alertness and recognition at the time of the arrest in 2017 that resulted in the investigation. The officer turned the initial information over to Lakewood's full-time drug investigation unit, and "as soon as they recognized some of the names coming up, we contacted the county," Meyer said.

Ocean County investigators at first asked Meyer for his units' cooperation for a couple of weeks, but "they kept coming back to me to extend it another few weeks."

"It's really pleasing that the initial officer's work led to this," Meyer said. "It would have been so easy for that officer to just do the paperwork on the arrest and be done with it, but instead (the officer) took the time to pass the information along."

"Our patrol officers on the streets are our first line of defense," Coronato said. "The work they do is so important."

Coronato also said the support from Sen. Cory Booker and House Reps. Tom MacArthur of the 3rd District and Chris Smith of the 4th District, who pushed for Ocean County to be added to the DEA's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Northern Group last year, was critical.

"(It) has increased tenfold our scope and ability to conduct investigations limiting the import of illegal narcotics into Ocean County and beyond," Coronato said.

"I want to commend the law enforcement officers who made 'Operation Heading Back' a tremendous success we should all be proud of," said MacArthur, who is the co-chair of the House Bipartisan Heroin Task Force."If it weren’t for the excellent multi-jurisdictional efforts, these illegal drugs, weapons, and criminals would have poured into our communities and destroyed people’s lives and their families."

"(The investigators') efforts saved lives and I remain grateful for all they do on a daily basis to protect our community," MacArthur said.

"Today marks the disclosure of the first of many significant future narcotic operations, adding to our already robust enforcement of our drug laws and the drug induced death strict liability statute," Coronato said. "We’re sending a clear message to drug dealers that Ocean County is not fertile ground for their enterprise.”

Seized in the raids were $848,481 in currency, 20 loaded firearms including an AK-47; 1,800 bricks – 90,000 individual doses – of heroin, with a street values of between $50,000 and $70,000; 8.75 kilograms of cocaine with a street value estimated between $38,000 and $45,000; 100 pills of Ecstasy; 100 varied prescription pills; 6 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $3,000 to $3,500; additional amounts of edible marijuana items, and promethazine and suboxone, authorities said.

"These brokers offered one-stop shopping," Coronato said, and it was frequently a case of who had the highest-quality drugs available for the best price and in the quickest amount of time.

In addition to the cash, authorities seized 27 for forfeiture, among them a 2014 Jaguar worth $80,000, a 2016 Range Rover worth $76,000 and three BMWs, authorities said.

The 31 people charged are as follows (read the charges here):

1. Jihad Anderson, 38, -- 45 Brentonian Drive, Brick
2. Laquan Anderson, 33 – 26 Tanbark Drive, Parlin
3. Lorenzo Balmer – Piscataway
4. Reynard Bronson, 34 – 9-15 Triton Terrace, Newark
5. Jocelyn Corniel, 34 – 280 Wayne Avenue, Apt. 2, Paterson
6. Sean Crosby, 35 – 1326 Paris Court, Lakewood
7. Saladine Davis, 41 – 1227 East Front Street, Plainfield
8. Rafael DeJesus, 42 – 280 Wayne Avenue, Apt. 2, Paterson
9. Gregory Delarosa, 38 – 414 Union Avenue, Jersey City
10. Andrea Goines, 35 – 114 Lenox Court, Piscataway
11. Elissa Gundell-Goodson, 21 – 69 Center Avenue, Keansburg
12. Robert Hager, 62 – 522 Batchlor Street, Toms River
13. Delcio Hernandez-Severin, 35 – 118 East 26th Street, Paterson
14. Darrin Hester, 57 – 310 Franklin Place, Plainfield
15. Marcia Jenkins, 36 – 308 Vasser Drive, Piscataway
16. Kareem Johnson, 30 – 335 Moonlight Drive, Piscataway
17. Joyce Kirkland, 52 – 297 Meeker Avenue, Newark
18. Bernard Mendez, 32 – 216 Powderhorn Drive, Lakewood
19. Larry Petty, 35 – 112 JamesStreet,Bldg. 17, Apt. 7, Toms River
20. Robert Randolph, 36 – 183 West 6th Street, Howell
21. Christopher Romero, 28– 339 Corbin Court, Lakewood
22. Joseph Rosenthal, 27 – 228-1 North 5 Avenue, Long Branch
23. Rasheed Sanders, 37 – 86 Mary Avenue, East Orange
24. Teron Savoy, 42 – 59 East Connecticut Concourse, Jackson
25. Byron Simpson, 46 – 29 Clinton Avenue, Plainfield
26. Pedro Victoriano, 36 – 3288 Perry Avenue, Apt. 4F, Bronx, NY
27. Thomas Wyatt, 39 – 1750 West 3rd Street, Piscataway
28. Jaime Doyle, 32 – 20 Romana Lane, Toms River
29. Morris Howard, 41 – 638 Hillside Avenue, Brick - *FUGITIVE*
30. Stacy Bell, 45 – 261 Adams Street, Piscataway - *FUGITIVE*
31. Akera Lewis, 27 – 100 Schofield Street, Newark - *FUGITIVE*

Nine alleged production facilities were shut down, Coronato said, three of them in Piscataway, where seven of the 33 search warrants were executed, he said. The nine facility locations are:

1. 5 Lawrence Street, Apt. 533, Bloomfield – Residence of Reynard Bronson
2. 59 East Connecticut Concourse, Jackson – Residence of Teron Savoy
3. 26 Tanbark Drive, Parlin – Residence of Laquan Anderson
4. 280 Wayne Avenue, Apt. 2, Paterson – Residence of Rafael DeJesus
5. 114 Lenox Court, Piscataway – Residence of Andrea Goines
6. 335 Moonlight Drive, Piscataway – Residence of Kareem Johnson
7. 280 River Road, Apt. 71B, Piscataway – Residence of Kareem Johnson
8. 308 Vasser Drive, Piscataway – Residence of Marcia Jenkins
9. 821 Kensington Avenue, Apt. 2L, Plainfield – Residence of Byron Simpson

Each of these locations had drug manufacturing supplies and tools, including but not limited to: kilogram press, cutting agents, repackaging materials (wax folds), scales, blenders, stamps and more, Coronato’s office said.

This is a breaking news report and will be updated.

Patch was live at the news conference. Watch it again below:

Law enforcement agencies involved are as follows:

• The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office – Special Operations Group
• US Drug Enforcement Administration Ocean/Monmouth HIDTA Task Force
• NY/NJ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area North
• New Jersey National Guard Counter Drug Task Force
• Ocean County Regional Special Weapons & Assault Team
• Ocean County Prosecutor’s Financial Crimes Unit
• The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department
• Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office
• Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
• Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office
• Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office
• Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office
• Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office
• Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office
• Union County Prosecutor’s Office
• New Jersey Division of Parole
• The New Jersey State Police
• Barnegat Police Department
• Beach Haven Police Department
• Bloomfield Police Department
• Brick Township Police Department
• Howell Police Department
• Lacey Police Department
• Lakewood Township Police Department
• Lakehurst Police Department
• Long Beach Township Police Department
• Manchester Township Police Department
• Piscataway Police Department
• Plainfield Police Department
• Seaside Heights Police Department
• Ship Bottom Police Department
• Stafford Township Police Department
• Toms River Police Department
• Waretown Police Department

Photo by Karen Wall, Patch staff