An Egg Harbor Township man was arrested after investigators stopped a half-kilogram of cocaine that was mailed to him from Haiti, Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced Wednesday.
Jurggen Thomas, 23, was arrested at his West Jersey Avenue home on Tuesday, following a joint investigation by the Atlantic City Task Force and U.S. Homeland Security agents.
The investigation was sparked by a suspicious package sent by UPS to the township home from Haiti.
After the cocaine was discovered, investigators set up a delivery to the address on the package Tuesday, which they discovered was a friend's home whose address Thomas was using, Porrino said.
A second controlled delivery was then made, and Thomas was arrested when he took the package, Porrino said.
Investigators then searched his home and found five large bundle containing a total of 120 pounds of marijuana in a small shed in the backyard, according to the report.
Thomas is charged with two counts of first-degree possession with intent to distribute, along with a second-degree conspiracy to distribute cocaine charge, third-degree cocaine possession and third-degree possession of marijuana.
The first-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, if convicted, and as much as a half-million dollar fine. The second-degree charge has a five- to 10-year term, and the third-degree charge is three to five years in prison.
Thomas is lodged in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
The Atlantic City Task Force is a mixture of federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement officers. The Atlantic City-based office is led by Deputy Attorney General James Ruberton, who will prosecute the case.
Thomas was arrested in Pleasantville in 2015 driving a car with three guns and a small amount of marijuana. He was not charged with possession of either, but was taken in on a warrant, according to the police report.
