Heroin Mill Linked To 84 Deaths Busted In North Jersey: AG

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — About 32,000 doses and four kilograms of fentanyl and heroin were seized as part of a take down of a major drug mill in a luxury apartment in Harrison, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Thursday.

The State Police shut down the mill, which distributed its drugs that were stamped with the same brand names of narcotics that have been linked to 227 overdoses, including 84 deaths, Grewal said in a news release.

The mill was based out of an apartment on Somerset Street in Harrison and was supplying 15,000 doses of fentanyl and heroin a day, Grewal said.

Timothy Guest, 45, of Irvington, allegedly ran the mill with people working under him, including William Woodley, 27, of Belleville, and Selionel Orama, 25, of Cedar Grove, Grewal said. They were arrested on Thursday and face multiple charges.

Members of the New Jersey State Police Opioid Enforcement Task Force were watching the area near the Harrison drug mill March 14, when they saw Guest leave the apartment with a black duffel bag with 150 bricks of fentanyl, the attorney general said.

Guest allegedly fled from police, but his vehicle became disabled, and he was arrested, Grewal said. Woodley and Orama fled from the mill building and were also arrested.

Inside the drug mill, authorities seized three kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of heroin mixed with fentanyl, 25,000 doses of fentanyl packaged for sale, and equipment to make package the drugs, including 25 coffee grinders, kilo presses, wax folds, and 43 ink stamps used to brand the wax folds, Grewal said.

Of those stamps, 25 were of the same brand names that were linked to the 227 overdoses and overdoses.

"We prevented countless doses of fentanyl and heroin from reaching drug users by taking down this mill, and given that the stamps seized bear the same names as drugs linked to 84 deaths, we may have saved many lives," Grewal said.

Guest also allegedly used a location in Secaucus as a stash house to keep proceeds from the drug operation, Grewal said. Authorities found $200,000, a $400,000 Bentley convertible, and a $130,000 Range Rover.

The investigation was conducted by the recently established Opioid Enforcement Task Force with assistance from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and several county and municipal law enforcement agencies. The task force is designed to specifically target sources of heroin and fentanyl in New Jersey.

Guest, Woodley, and Orama were each charged with: first-degree maintaining a narcotics production facility, first-degree possession of heroin with intent to distribute, second-degree possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, third-degree possession of fentanyl, and fourth-degree possession of drug paraphernalia. Guest was also charged with eluding police.

Guest is being held in jail pending a detention hearing. Woodley and Orama were released with conditions following detention hearings, Grewal said.

"This investigation represents a significant advancement in the State Police’s capacity to conduct large scale narcotics investigations due to the recently created Opioid Enforcement Task Force," said State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan. "This task force coupled with the analytical capabilities of the Drug Monitoring Initiative represent a powerful deterrent to the illegal narcotics trade in New Jersey and the region."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com