(The Center Square) – Law enforcement agencies in New Jersey seized record amounts of drugs and weapons in two operations as prosecutions of earlier busts continue in the state.
Two men were arrested this week after a New Jersey Homeland Security Task Force investigation led to the largest seizure of methamphetamine in state history.
Marcos Cesar Acosta, most recently of Chicago, and Carlos Cordero-Guiterrez, a Mexican national, were charged in Camden with conspiring to distribute more than 260 pounds of meth, enough to kill the entire population of Camden County.
“By preventing hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine from hitting the streets, this historic seizure has made New Jersey a safer place,” U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Robert Frazer said. “And it has also sent an unmistakable message to drug traffickers who plan to enter the Garden State: stay out.”
With 200 milligrams of meth considered a lethal dose, enough meth was seized to kill nearly 590,000 people. Camden’s population is slightly more than 71,000; Camden County’s is roughly 538,000.
If convicted, they face between 10 years and life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million.
In Passaic County, “one of the largest known drug seizures in New Jersey history” occurred, Frazer said. Law enforcement seized enough lethal doses of fentanyl and meth to kill more than twice the county’s population.
In this case, Nankel Stuardo Solorzano, of Clifton, was arrested and charged on multiple counts of possession and intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine; possessing firearms to further drug trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms as a previously convicted felon.
The DEA led the multi-agency investigation, involving the New York State Police, Clifton Police and Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit in Newark.
After the drugs were trafficked into New Jersey, authorities allege Solorzano sold large quantities out of a residential apartment complex in Clifton, according to the charges. Law enforcement seized more than 40 kilos of fentanyl, approximately 52 kilos of methamphetamine, and more than 2 kilos of cocaine base. They also seized four firearms, including a stolen handgun, an AK-47-style rifle equipped with a large capacity magazine, a 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition and magazines, according to the charges.
The volume of seized drugs was enough to kill 1.23 million people, with 2 milligrams of fentanyl, 200 milligrams of meth and 30 milligrams of cocaine considered a lethal dose. Clifton’s population is slightly more than 90,000. Passaic County’s is roughly 532,000.
If convicted, he faces between decades and life in prison and more than $10 million in fines.
During the Biden administration, law enforcement in southwest border states seized enough illicit drugs to kill billions of people, The Center Square reported. Within the first year of the Trump administration, as record high illegal border crossings dropped to record lows, law enforcement is still seeing large volumes of illicit drugs pouring into the country facilitated by transnational criminal networks.
President Donald Trump directed federal agencies and prosecutors to combat transnational crime through several task forces, including the Homeland Security Task Force and Department of Justice task forces.
New Jersey’s historic drug busts and prosecutions are an outworking of these and other multi-agency operations.
In a separate case in Mercer County, Jamal Wilson, of Trenton, was sentenced to 260 months in prison after a multiagency investigation led to his arrest and the seizure of large quantities of drugs and weapons. He was among 12 men charged in a drug trafficking scheme taken down by the Greater Trenton Safe Streets Task Force led by the FBI in a multi-agency operation.
Charges included multiple counts of possessing quantities of fentanyl and cocaine with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm to further drug trafficking, and unlawful possession of firearms as a previously convicted felon.
Investigators targeted drug trafficking and firearms activities in the GCL area of Trenton (Garfield, Cleveland, and Logan avenues). The neighborhood is “known for high levels of narcotics activity and gun violence,” Frazer’s office said. They targeted apartment complexes next to the Garfield Avenue Playground where drug trafficking allegedly occurs.
The investigation led to the seizure of one kilo of fentanyl, two kilos of cocaine, four firearms (including two unserialized, privately made firearms), high-capacity magazines, ammunition, gun parts and two gun suppressors, according to the charges.
The volume of drugs seized was enough to kill more than 465,000 people. Trenton’s population is roughly 90,000. Mercer County’s is roughly 392,000.
The three drug seizures alone had enough lethal doses to kill nearly 2.4 million people, or 25% of New Jersey’s 9.5 million population.
