Prosecutors: 17 people arrested in Monmouth County drug ring bust
Police say three overdose deaths have been linked to the packaging used by the mills.
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More than a dozen people were arrested following an eight-month investigation into a drug ring in Monmouth County, prosecutors announced on Monday.
The investigation into widespread illegal narcotics distribution resulted in 17 arrests and the seizure of drugs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on the street, prosecutors say.
The investigation revealed drugs were being funneled into the county from a fentanyl mill in Paterson run by Pedro Torres-Rivera, 54, and Manuel Dejesus-Polanco, 54, both of Paterson, according to prosecutors. When police raided the mill, prosecutors say they caught Torres-Rivera and Dejesus-Polanco in surgical masks actively packaging drugs.
Police also raided stash houses in Long Branch and Neptune where they found 450 grams of fentanyl. Authorities say this amount is enough to kill 225,000 people.
Cocaine, Xanax, cutting agents and nearly $28,000 in cash were also found at the stash houses, prosecutors say.
A total of 22 types of folds meant for packaging individual doses of opioids were also recovered, according to authorities. Prosecutors say three overdose deaths have been linked to the packaging used by the mills.
