29 Deaths, ODs In 7 NJ Counties Connected To Large Fentanyl Bust

NEW JERSEY – Enough drugs to kill 3.5 million people were seized in a huge New Jersey fentanyl bust this week that's connected to 76 overdoses in seven counties as well as 29 deaths, officials said (see counties below).

Three people were arrested after the seizure of approximately 15 pounds – or nearly 7 kilograms – of fentanyl and the dismantling of an opioid mill, according to a release from the State Police and the Office of Attorney General.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The mill operators were distributing their narcotics in wax folds stamped with the same brand names that have been linked the 76 suspected overdoses and the 29 fatalities, according the release.

The counties most impacted by the overdoses were:

• Middlesex (14)
• Union (13)
• Ocean (10)
• Monmouth (9)
• Morris (7)
• Essex (6)
• Bergen (5)

As part of the investigation, authorities executed a search warrant on Sunday and seized 59 different rubber stamps that the mill operators used to “brand” the wax folds. They also used the stamps to package narcotics prior to street-level distribution, according to the release.

Drug traffickers typically package heroin and/or fentanyl in a wax fold, which is considered one dose. A lethal dose of fentanyl is two milligrams, according to the CDC.

The drug traffickers also market their “brand” of drug by ink-stamping the outside of the wax fold with a unique image, word or phrase such as “Passion,” “Thanos,” “Thor,” and “No Days Off,” which are examples of the stamps recovered from this Newark mill.

Col. Patrick Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said 29 people lost their lives linked to the brands associated with this mill, but the victims were not limited to its physical location.

"Our analysis through the 'Drug Monitoring Initiative' illustrates how quickly deadly narcotics processed in these mills spread across the state,” said Callahan. “Fentanyl is a killer that does not differentiate between the user, police officer, first responder, or child who accidentally comes into contact with it."

Those arrested were: Whydia Durham, 46, of Union; Dereemus Botts, 34, of Irvington; and Nelson Johnson, 30, of Newark.

They were charged with the following:

• maintaining a CDS facility
• possession with intent to distribute
• possession within 1,000 feet of a school zone
• destruction of evidence
• distribution/possession of CDS paraphernalia
• unlawful possession of a handgun (3 counts)
• unlawful possession of a handgun during a CDS offense (3 counts)
• unlawful possession of a high capacity magazine (2 counts)
• CDS processing equipment

In November 2019, the New Jersey State Police Gangs and Organized Crime North Unit and the HSI Transitional Organized Crime and Gang Group (TOCGG) began investigating the criminal activities of several criminal organizations operating in North Jersey, the release said.

The probe ultimately led them to a residence on Hobson Street in Newark where they seized the following:

• Seven kilograms of fentanyl, including a combination of pure fentanyl and fentanyl mixed with cutting agents
• Three handguns: two .45-caliber handguns and a .380-caliber handgun
• Two large capacity magazines: a 28-round .45-caliber drum and a 13-round .45-caliber high capacity magazine
• Thirteen .45-caliber flat nose cartridges

Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said various law enforcement agencies discovered “the poison that the criminals operating this mill pushed out across New Jersey."

“By working with our federal partners at the Department of Homeland Security, we are bringing a new enforcement approach to beating back this epidemic," he said. "We are focusing our efforts on the deadliest mills in New Jersey to choke off the supply of these highly potent drugs at the source where they are mixed and packaged.

"These collaborative efforts will continue to save countless lives, as we also continue to focus on our innovative prevention and treatment efforts.”