A traffic stop in Elizabeth last week resulted in two arrests and the seizure of large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Monday.
Arrested as a result of the stop were Jafet Acevedo, 21, and Arturo Perez, 22, both residents of Stratford, Connecticut.
Acevedo and Perez were stopped in a 2004 Toyota Sienna Wednesday afternoon near The Mills at Jersey Gardens shopping mall in Elizabeth by members of the Prosecutor’s Office’s Guns, Gangs, Drugs, and Violent Crimes Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department.
A search of the vehicle and a later search of the defendants’ home yielded the recovery of three kilograms of cocaine, 3.5 kilograms of heroin, 10 pounds of methamphetamine, and $40,000 in cash; the estimated street value of the seized narcotics is estimated at nearly $1.5 million.
Acevedo and Perez both were charged with first-degree possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, first-degree possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, and two related third-degree drug offenses.
State Superior Court Judge William Daniel set bail at $1 million for Acevedo and $500,000 for Perez.
Convictions on first-degree crimes are commonly punishable by 10 to 20 years in state prison.