The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A 20-year-old Somerset man was one of seven people recently charged with operating an online drug supermarket available exclusively to Rutgers University students.
Dubbed “Operation RU Pharm,” the months long investigation involved a number of law enforcement agencies, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police say the group’s leader – a 23-year-old North Brunswick resident and former Rutgers student – established a secret social media network, available only to Rutgers students, through which the students could review menus and negotiate drug purchases with dealers.
Students had to prove their affiliation with Rutgers before they were allowed to join the network, according to the release.
Charges the Somerset man faces include one count of 2nd Degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, five counts of 3rd Degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, two counts of 3rd Degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, one count of 3rd Degree Money Laundering, and one count of 4th Degree Possession with Intent to Distribute Drug Paraphernalia, according to the press release.
Others arrested in the operation are from Red Bank, Shrewsbury, Jackson, Kingston, NY, and New York City, according to the release.
Police also seized a large amount of marijuana, LSD, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, Adderall, Xanax, a large amount of US currency, and a firearm, according to the release.
The investigation was led by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force in conjunction with the Rutgers University Police Department, New Brunswick Police Department, and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the release.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force at (732) 745-3300.
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