An Atlantic County father and son were allegedly dealing meth out of their home, where investigators also seized guns.
Paul Deola, 61, and his 29-year old son, Paul IV, were arrested last Wednesday after an investigation led to three-quarters of a pound of crystal methamphetamine and seven guns, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Monday.
The weapons inside the Buena Vista home included an assault rifle, Grewal said.
“Methamphetamine is a dangerous and addictive drug that destroys lives,” Grewal said. “We are working collaboratively and proactively across all levels of law enforcement to target the drug dealers who profit by distributing their poison in our communities.”
New Jersey State Police developed information that the father was distributing crystal meth from his East Landis Avenue home, according to the report.
The older Deola was arrested on July 10, when detectives stopped his pickup truck near his home with a warrant to search the residence.
He had a small amount of meth on his at the time, according to the charges.
Inside the home, investigators found about 12 ounces of crystal meth, a small quantity of marijuana, an assault rifle, a loaded handgun, five shotguns, large capacity magazines, armor-piercing and hollow-point bullets, and $17,670 in cash.
The son was arrested when he came home a short time later.
“We will continue to work with the New Jersey State Police and other law enforcement partners to strike at the source of the drugs fueling addiction in our communities,” said Director Veronica Allende of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By seizing drugs and guns and putting alleged drug dealers behind bars, we are making New Jersey safer.”
The two are being held pending detention hearings set for Tuesday.
They are each charged with first-degree possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, along with possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug offense, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, possession of armor-piercing ammunition and possession of hollow-point bullets.
“Illegal firearms threaten the safety of our neighborhoods, and drugs like methamphetamine claim and ruin far too many lives,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police. “We will continue to work with our partners to aggressively target narcotics suppliers in order to shut down distribution routes and remove illegal firearms from our communities.”
The investigation involved the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau—Casino Operations Unit, the NJSP Crime Suppression South Unit, and the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau. The NJSP Gangs & Organized Crime South Unit also assisted in the investigation.
