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Operation ‘Fire And Ice’ Nets 24, Including 8 From Franklin, And $250K In Drugs

Eight township residents were among 24 people arrested on drug-related charges following a seven-month investigation County law enforcement officials dubbed “Fire and Ice.”

Ten of those charged were arrested on February 16, 10 were arrested on March 2 and two remain at large, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

Twenty search warrants executed on the homes of some of those charged yielded more than $250,000 worth of narcotics, including 700 grams of cocaine, approximately 1,257 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 36 pounds of marijuana, approximately 950 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) / hashish, approximately 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, approximately nine grams of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and four folds of heroin, according to the press release.

Also seized during the searches were seven handguns, a shotgun, eight high-capacity magazines, 1,200 rounds of full metal jacket ammunition, 130 rounds of hollow point ammunition, and $183,036 in U.S. currency as suspected drug sale proceeds, according to the release.

The narcotics seized during this investigation have an estimated street value as follows:

  • Cocaine – $42,000
  • Methamphetamine – $105,560
  • Marijuana – $90,000
  • Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/hashish – $19,000
  • Psilocybin mushrooms – $800
  • Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) – $540            
  • Heroin – $20

The Somerset defendants have been charged with a variety of drug- and weapons-related offenses, according to the release.

Participating in the investigation were officers from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, the Newark field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Franklin Township Police Department, and the Raritan Borough Police Department, according to the release.

Also participating in the investigation were the the New Jersey State Police, New Jersey State Police TEAMS, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Tactical Narcotics Team, Somerset County SWAT Team, Warren County Tactical Response Team, United States Postal Inspection Service Newark Division, Bound Brook Police Department, Bridgewater Police Department, Somerville Police Department, Branchburg Police Department, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, and the K-9 Units from the Somerset County Sherriff’s Office, Bound Brook Police Department, New Brunswick Police Department, Clinton Township Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Newark Field Division, according to the release.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force at 908-231-7100 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ. Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

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