The ring is accused of obtaining heroin in New York for sale in Monmouth and Ocean counties
NEW YORK -- A dozen people were charged and 11 were arrested Tuesday for their roles in a ring running heroin from Washington Heights and the Bronx in New York for sale in Monmouth and Ocean counties, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the New Jersey Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency said in a statement.
Search warrants were executed at "several" locations in New Jersey, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim.
"As alleged, this organization transported large quantities of heroin from Washington Heights and the Bronx across the Hudson to Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey, helping to fuel the opioid epidemic plaguing our nation," Kim said.
Miguel Ariel Susana, Quadre Hubbard, James F. "Brim Reaper" Smith III, Tahmir Rice, Damar Bivins, Jair Oliver, Tysheem Smith, Joel Rosado, Aveena Vitrano-Manley and Frank DeSanto were arrested by the DEA Tuesday. Another suspect, Marcellus Cutler, was still at large. Tyron Trotman was already in state custody and will be transferred to federal custody.
Authorities say the ring has been operating since May, obtaining the drugs in New York and packaging them in New Jersey for sale here. According to authorities, Susana supplied Hubbard and James Smith, while Rice, Bivins, Oliver, Cutler and Tysheem Smith helped handle other aspects of the operation, including packaging the drugs, storage and distribution.
DeSanto and Trotman allegedly sold to street-level customers, while Rosado and Vitrano-Manley, along with James Smith, pooled their money to obtain "significant" quantities of drugs.
All 12 have been charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.