'Stunning' Spike in Heroin Deaths Prompts Drug Takedown

More than 100 people face charges in a multi-agency drug investigation prompted by a "stunning increase" in heroin overdose deaths across Bergen County, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said Thursday.

The approximately 120 arrests ranged from drug traffickers moving the heroin between Trenton and Paterson to dozens of buyers from North Jersey communities, Molinelli said. Most of the 23 accused dealers among the 120 arrested were from Paterson, Molinelli said.

Last year, Bergen logged 28 overdose deaths, a more than 100 percent jump over the prior year.

At a news conference Thursday in Hackensack, Molinelli displayed photos of the 90 alleged buyers nabbed over the four-month operation. In publicizing the arrests of buyers, Molinelli said he sought to deter others from purchasing drugs.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said the arrests were an example of "where the suburbs meet the cities."

"If any of us think that the drug trade and illicit drug abuse is limited to the cities, this is yet another example of how it is not," she said. "None of us, either in Passaic County or Bergen, or any of the surrounding counties, are immune to what is happening."

The probe began early this year when investigators were alerted to the spike in overdoses, including a dozen deaths in a four-month span beginning in June, Molinelli said. Authorities learned that many of the Bergen County overdoses were linked to drug purchases made in Paterson and formed a task force with investigators there.

One bust last Friday netted 1,000 bricks of heroin and $110,000 in cash when law enforcement foiled a transaction between Trenton-based suppliers and Paterson street dealers, according to the prosecutor's office.

That arrest stemmed from surveillance police were conducting on Paterson residents Felix Melendez, 27, and Christian Chiuyare, 33, officials said. Detectives watched as Melendez made the heroin deal with 28-year-old Kyle and 27-year-old Seth Pittman, both of Trenton, in Paterson.

Police in towns including Fair Lawn, Wayne, Glen Rock, Hackensack and Mercer County authorities assisted in the investigation along with federal drug and Homeland Security agents.

Click to view a list from the prosecutor's office of those charged with buying and dealing heroin.