Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)
A Brick man was among a dozen suspects charged this week after the DEA conducted raids to break up an alleged heroin ring that trafficked drugs from New York and brought them to the Shore area.
Jair Oliver, 24, of Brick, was charged Tuesday, as well as James F. Smith III, also known as “Trey,” “Brim Reaper,” and “Reaper,” 26, of Toms River, with participating in a drug trafficking organization that distributed “large quantities of heroin in and around Monmouth and Ocean Counties,” a statement from the office said.
Other locals among those charged were Damar Bivins, 26, of Toms River, Tysheem Smith, 28, of Lakewood, Joel Rosado, 38, of Freehold, Aveena Vitrano-Manley, 23, of Howell, Frank Desanto, 40, of Stafford, Marcellus Cutler, 48, of Lakewood and Tyron Trotman, 30, of Manchester.
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Raids were conducted by the DEA on Tuesday. Officials said members of the organization obtained heroin and from The Bronx and the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and distributed it in the Shore area.
“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim. “Today’s arrests of twelve alleged members of this heroin distribution organization is part our sustained commitment, along with our partners at the DEA, to stop the flow of heroin into and out of New York.”
Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Smith, Oliver and Cutler are also charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute one kilogram and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of heroin, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Photos of the suspects were not available.
