A Pleasantville man and an Egg Harbor Township man are charged with conspiring to distribute heroin following an investigation that led to one of the largest narcotics seizures in Atlantic County’s history, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner announced.
Officials said Mr. Ricardo Clavijo, 39, of Egg Harbor Township and Mr. Christopher Gonzalez, 37, of Pleasantville, were each charged on July 13, 2021, by the U.S. Attorney for various narcotics and weapons charges.
The defendants are charged with Conspiring to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute over 1 kilogram of heroin.
“By all accounts, this case represents the largest single seizure of drugs in the history of Atlantic County.
I cannot emphasize enough that this case could not have been accomplished without the collaborative work of the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area,” Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said.
According to officials, on July 12, 2021, detectives from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs, Guns & Narcotics Unit, agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Liberty Mid-Atlantic High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and officers from the Egg Harbor Township Police Department, Linwood Police K-9 Unit and members of the Atlantic County Regional SWAT Team executed a search warrant at the Egg Harbor Township of Calvijo.
They encountered Clavijo at the front door and Gonzalez in the basement.
“I am very proud of the work our law enforcement partners are doing to fight the effects that drugs are having on the citizens and visitors of Atlantic County and our State.
In Atlantic County, we are committed to our fight to lower our overdoses and drug-related deaths through a combination of enforcement actions and treatment programs.
An investigation with a seizure of this caliber is going to save a lot of lives,” said Atlantic County Chief County Investigators Bruce K. DeShields.
In the basement of the home, law enforcement officers discovered the following narcotics, weapons and other items:
Five kilogram-sized packages of suspected fentanyl
Eight kilogram-sized packages of suspected fentanyl or cocaine
Two kilogram-sized packets of suspected heroin
Tens of thousands of pre-packaged individual doses of suspected heroin
One .45 caliber handgun, a loaded magazine for the handgun, and a 9mm 50-round drum magazine.
Additional narcotics packaging material, paraphernalia and an electronic money counter were also seized by law enforcement on Monday, July 12, 2021.