A week-long operation targeting street level drug dealers in Paterson yielded 18 arrests, Passaic County prosecutor Camelia Valdes announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Valdes said the alleged drug dealers were charged with narcotics distribution offenses. Authorities seized almost a pound of heroin, 6 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of marijuana, 94 Alprazolam, and 9 Xanax pills.
$2,991 in drug money was seized in the operation.
The crackdown dubbed “Operation Branch Out” ran from Aug. 13th through 17th and involved 40 officers from law enforcement agencies in Passaic, Bergen, Morris, and Sussex counties.
Police from Clifton, Passaic City, Totowa, and Paterson also took part in the operation.
Valdes described the operation as a “success.”
“As you can see from our partnered Prosecutor Offices in Bergen, Morris, and Sussex, the drugs that are purchased in Passaic County often times are used by addicts in these other counties,” said Valdes.
The crackdown is an outgrowth of the recent “Operation Helping Hand” which targeted buyers and steered them towards treatment.
“We now have ‘Branched Out’ to focus on the dealers,” said the prosecutor. “Let this serve as a reminder that law enforcement will continue to pursue those who distribute these addictive substances which destroy so many lives.”
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