Major Bust Of NJ Heroin, Fentanyl Rings Linked To 26 Deaths

Authorities announced on Thursday that they've made a major bust of heroin and fentanyl rings linked to 57 overdoses, 26 of them fatal. The amount found could have killed tens of thousands of people.

The busts were the results of two collaborative law enforcement operations aimed at reducing gun violence and combatting the opioid epidemic gripping New Jersey and the nation, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

Brands stamped on wax folds of heroin seized in the two operations are the same brands that have been linked to 57 overdoses, including 26 fatal overdoses and 31 nonfatal overdoses.

In “Operation West End,” authorities conducted multiple investigations targeting gun and drug trafficking in Mercer County. The operation led to 18 arrests and seizures of 22 guns – including five assault rifles – as well as about 11,000 doses of heroin and fentanyl and 750 grams of cocaine in the Trenton area, according to an Office of Attorney General release. The arrests began on Aug. 1.

In “Operation 4K Boyz,” the alleged leader of a heroin and fentanyl distribution network in the Passaic County, Kashard Whitaker, a founding member and leader of the 4K Boyz set of the Bloods street gang, was arrested along with nine other suspects. They included alleged mill operators and associates, according to the release.

The Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police Department dismantled two sophisticated opioid mills, seizing over 27,000 individual doses of heroin, one kilo of bulk heroin, and nearly 400 grams of fentanyl, along with equipment and materials used to cut, process and package the drugs, according to the release.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the takedown on Aug. 2.

The operations "reflect our dual law enforcement priorities of combatting the opioid epidemic and suppressing gun violence by targeting the weapons and drug traffickers who fuel these twin scourges,” said Grewal.

“We are totally committed to these efforts to protect our communities in New Jersey, and we are employing the type of collaborative, intelligence-driven investigations that produce the strong results reflected in these two operations," he said. "In each case, drugs allegedly were being distributed bearing stamps that have been linked to numerous overdose deaths. There can be no doubt that lives were saved by these operations – saved from heroin and fentanyl overdoses, and saved from the mayhem inflicted by the assault rifles and other guns with large-capacity magazines we seized.”

Operation West End involved a number of separate investigations, but all of them targeted individuals who allegedly sold guns and/or drugs in the same area of Trenton. In total, during Operation West End, the investigating agencies seized approximately 220 bricks of heroin – equal to about 11,000 single-dose wax folds – approximately 750 grams of cocaine, $52,000 cash, 22 guns, including five assault rifles, and 18 illegal large-capacity magazines, according to the release.

The investigations involved controlled purchases of guns and drugs, which involved approximately 200 bricks of heroin and fentanyl, 350 grams of cocaine, 13 firearms, including three assault rifles, and 11 illegal large-capacity magazines, according to the release. Each brick of heroin includes 50 single-dose wax folds, so approximately 10,000 doses of heroin and fentanyl were sold.

Those totals represent guns and drugs seized prior to the execution of search warrants last week.

When arrests were made and search warrants were executed on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 1 and 2, additional guns and drugs were seized. Detectives seized 20 more bricks of heroin – 1,000 doses – as well as roughly 400 more grams of cocaine, about $52,000 cash, and nine more guns, including two assault rifles, with seven additional large-capacity magazines, according to the release.

Wax folds of heroin allegedly being sold by defendants in Operation West End were stamped with the brand “AK-47,” which has been associated with 10 fatal overdoses and nine nonfatal overdoses, according to the release.

Investigators developed information early on that Jeffrey Johnson and his brother Lateef Gibson, who live together on Atterbury Avenue in Trenton, were both allegedly involved in criminal activity: Johnson in trafficking guns and drugs, and Gibson in dealing drugs, according to the release.

During the investigations, Johnson allegedly sold an AR-15 assault rifle with a large-capacity magazine along with a co-conspirator. He also allegedly sold five handguns, in some instances with a different co-conspirator, according to the release.

Johnson also allegedly sold 17 bricks of heroin. Gibson allegedly conspired with six other defendants to sell nearly 110 bricks of heroin and fentanyl, and over 300 grams of cocaine, according to the release.

Five other defendants are charged in connection with sales of two additional assault rifles with large-capacity magazines, three rifles and two handguns. Three additional defendants are charged with allegedly conspiring to distribute or distributing drugs, according to the release.

The following is the full list of defendants arrested and charges filed in Operation West End:

Alleged Gun Traffickers

• Jeffrey J. Johnson, 41, of Trenton
• Andrew B. Boone Jr. 31, of Browns Mills
• Walter E. Gleaton, aka Walter Mason
• Andrew Anderson Jr., 28, of Trenton
• Eddie Padilla-Colon, 35, of Willingboro
• Joshua D. Vargas, 25, of Trenton
• Edwin Gaines, 58, of Jersey City
• Rajon Glover, 23, of Trenton

Alleged Drug Dealers

• Lateef Gibson, 37, of Trenton
• Arlene West, 60, of Trenton
• Daniel Wilson, 50, of Trenton
• Curtis M. Daniels, 48, of Ewing
• Davia R. Dennia, 28, of Trenton
• Cordea V. Ford, 24, of Trenton
• Arlinda Staley, 49, of Trenton
• Samuel J. Tucker, 46, of Trenton
• Joy K. Scott, 25, of Trenton
• Trudy Picott, 54, of Trenton

Johnson, Boone, Gleaton, Padilla-Colon, Gaines, Gibson, West, Staley and Scott are lodged in jail pending detention hearings. Anderson, Dennia, and Ford are being held in jail on prior charges. The remaining defendants were released subject to conditions, according to the release.

OPERATION 4K BOYZ

In Operation 4K Boyz, the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau North Team and the Paterson Police Department investigated a heroin and fentanyl distribution network allegedly led by Kashard Whitaker, according to the release.

Whitaker allegedly commanded a ring of suppliers and street-level distributors. Miguel Guerrero-Santana allegedly was Whitaker’s primary supplier, operating an opioid mill at 25 Kent Village, aka 769 11th Avenue, in Paterson, according to the release.

It is alleged that Carlos Nunez was an additional supplier to Whitaker’s distribution network and operated an opioid mill at 169 Grand Street in Paterson, according to the release.

Kashard allegedly was buying approximately 25,000 to 30,000 wax folds of heroin and fentanyl per week and distributing to his network, which further distributed the drugs to dealers and customers.

Members of the Division of Criminal Justice and Paterson Police Department – assisted by the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations – executed search warrants at each of the mills on Friday, Aug. 2. Both mills were major operations where drug dealers mixed fentanyl and heroin with cutting agents using coffee grinders, while wearing latex gloves and masks, and then packaged heroin laced with fentanyl into individual-dose wax folds, according to the release.

In taking down the mills and executing search warrants at stash houses used by the network, investigators seized over 27,000 individual doses of heroin, one kilo of bulk heroin, nearly 400 grams of fentanyl, approximately 152 grams of cocaine, and approximately 21 grams of methamphetamine, along with approximately $60,000 cash and equipment and materials used to process and package the drugs, according to the release.

Wax folds of heroin and fentanyl seized in the investigation were stamped with the following brands that have been linked to 16 fatal and 22 nonfatal overdoses: Empire, KFC, Takeover, Tuna Fish, Stingray, New Jack City, 2019, Sweet Dreams, and Tailgate, according to the release.

Additional evidence was obtained that also links drugs distributed by the network to overdose deaths. Those leads are being vigorously pursued and more charges may be filed, including first-degree charges of strict liability for overdose death, according to the release.

Whitaker is charged with first-degree promoting organized street crime, and Guerrero-Santana and Nunez are each charged with first-degree operating a narcotics production facility. Among the other defendants are Shakeem Browning, who allegedly was a mid-level distributor who reported to Whitaker, and McCoy Whitaker, who is Kashard’s uncle and allegedly was a runner who delivered drugs to customers. Several targets of the investigation, including Whitaker and Browning, are members of the 4K Boyz street gang, according to the release.

The following is the full list of defendants arrested and charges filed in Operation 4K Boyz:

• Kashard Whitaker, 41, of Paterson
• Shakeem Browning, 34, of Paterson
• Miguel Guerrero-Santana, 29, of Paterson
• Carlos Nunez, 32, of Paterson
• McCoy Whitaker, 62, of Paterson
• Enmanuel Ortiz, 38, of Paterson
• Escarlin Rivas, 35, of Paterson
• Regin Rivas, 36, of Paterson
• Yakgsenei Rivas-Pena, 33, of Paterson
• Albert Whitaker, 64, of Paterson

Whitaker, Guerrero-Santana, Nunez, and Rivas-Pena were ordered detained in jail pending trial. The state has filed a motion seeking the detention of Browning. The remaining defendants in Operation 4K Boyz were released subject to conditions.