Three suspects, charged with multiple weapons and narcotics offenses, and two alleged drug buyers were arrested late yesterday morning by Essex County sheriff’s detectives.
In response to neighborhood complaints of open-air drug trafficking in the area of South Orange and Columbia avenues officers from his department’s Bureau of Narcotics staged a plainclothes surveillance operation at that location on Wednesday morning.
Arriving detectives observed three suspects, later identified as Keith Jones, 24, of Orange, Abdur Raqib Ali, 20, of Newark, and Tyree Jefferson, 28, of Irvington, where they appeared to be beckoning to passing motorists, consistent behavior for drug dealers.
After a few minutes, a 2006 Buick Lucerne, driven by Julius Higgins, 64, of Newark, and his passenger, Bruce Rogers, 48, of Irvington, parked and engaged Jefferson and Ali in a brief conversation.
Jefferson and Ali then entered a nearby unoccupied vehicle, removed items from the car and exchanged them with Higgins and Rogers for cash.
Higgins and Rogers were followed from the scene and were each found to be in possession of a heroin-filled glassing envelop.
Jones, Ali and Jefferson were detained at the scene while the parked car was searched.
The search of the suspect vehicle yielded a fully loaded, .40 caliber, Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun which had been reported stolen out of Raeford, North Carolina, an additional 19 decks of heroin and 28 vials of ‘crack’ cocaine,” the sheriff added.
Jones was also found to be in possession of 11 zip-lock bags of marijuana while Jefferson was found to be in possession of three decks of heroin.
Jones and Ali were charged with the sale and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
They were also charged with the unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, possession of a weapon while committing a narcotics crime, receiving stolen property, three counts each of possession of CDS, possession of CDS with intent to distribute and possession of CDS with intent to distribute within 500 feet of Vailsburg Park and one count of conspiracy to violate New Jersey’s narcotics laws.
Jefferson was charged with possession of CDS and he was found to be the subject of two open warrants issued by the Newark municipal court.
Higgins was charged with possession of CDS and he was issued a summons for having narcotics in a motor vehicle.
Rogers was charged with possession of CDS and he was found to be the subject of open warrants issued by the Linden and Irvington municipal courts.
All five suspects were lodged at the county jail where they await bail hearings on Wednesday’s charges.