Heroin Trafficking Ring Stretched From Essex County To NYC: Police

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A major heroin trafficking ring that stretched from Essex County to New York City has been shut down, authorities say.

On Tuesday night, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office released details about an investigation into a “multi-million-dollar heroin mill” and the arrest of two brothers from East Orange – Shaheed Darling and Alhaqqah Darling – who are accused of being its “primary operators.”

Aziz Khwaja of Saddle Brook was also arrested. He is accused of transporting narcotics from a processing location in the Bronx, authorities said.

“This was a complex, high-level operation — and it ended because of focused, disciplined police work,” Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones said.

The sheriff’s office led an operation that carried out a search warrant at three addresses: 275 Prospect Street in East Orange, 175 Quincey Court in Woodbridge, and 460 North Midland Avenue in Saddle Brook.

During the investigation, sheriff’s officers seized 188 bricks of heroin packaged for distribution, including many that were stamped with street names such as “Black Caesar,” “Sexy Red” and “No Diddy.” A Springfield Armory XD-9 handgun and 69 rounds of 9mm ammunition were also recovered at Shaheed Darling’s residence in East Orange. The firearm had been reported stolen out of Matthews, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, two search warrants were executed at 2505 Aqueduct Avenue in The Bronx, where detectives recovered more than eight kilograms of heroin/fentanyl, $61,350 in suspected narcotics proceeds, and 62 different heroin stamps.

Authorities said it is believed that thousands of bricks of heroin were being produced weekly from the mill.

The three suspects face multiple charges, including Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS), Possession with Intent to Distribute CDS, Conspiracy to Distribute CDS, Distribution of CDS within 500 feet of public property, Distribution of CDS on or near school property, and Money Laundering.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office led the operation with support from the DEA REDRUM Task Force, Middlesex County SWAT Team, Bergen County SWAT and the Newark Police Department.

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