TOMS RIVER, NJ – A three-month investigation into heroin distribution across Ocean County ended with four arrests and the seizure of more than 3,500 individual doses of the drug, prosecutors announced.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said detectives from the office’s Narcotics Strike Force worked with the FBI’s Red Bank Jersey Shore Safe Streets Task Force, New Jersey State Police, multiple county prosecutor’s offices, tactical units, and local police departments in an extensive joint operation.
Investigators identified Nasir King, 18, of Hamilton, as a supplier moving heroin into Ocean County. On July 29, detectives tracked King as he traveled from Hamilton to Toms River, where he met with Darrell Salter, 59, of Lacey Township, in a Route 37 parking lot. King and passenger Asante Walker, 24, of Trenton, were taken into custody along with Salter.
Search warrants executed on King’s vehicle and two Trenton residences turned up about 1,250 doses of heroin, a gram of cocaine, and $1,322 in cash, prosecutors said. At one residence, detectives also arrested Jesselin Garcia, 18, of Trenton.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized an additional 2,250 doses of heroin.
King faces multiple charges including heroin distribution, possession with intent to distribute, conspiracy, possession of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. He was held at the Ocean County Jail before being released under New Jersey bail reform guidelines.
Walker, Salter, and Garcia were each charged with drug offenses ranging from conspiracy to possession and were released pending appearances in Ocean County Superior Court.
Key Points
- Multi-agency narcotics probe seized more than 3,500 doses of heroin in Ocean County.
- Four people, including an 18-year-old alleged supplier, were arrested and charged.
- One suspect was jailed and released under bail reform, while others were charged by summons.
A parking lot deal in Toms River unraveled a pipeline of heroin flowing through Ocean County.