Two Atlantic County men face federal charges after investigators found more than 15 kilograms of drugs and a gun in an Egg Harbor Township home.
It was "the largest single seizure of drugs in the history of Atlantic County," said Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner, whose office assisted in the case.
Ricardo Clavijo, 39, of Egg Harbor Township, and Christopher Gonzalez, 37, of Pleasantville, were arrested Monday, after law enforcement found five kilograms of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, two kilograms of suspected heroin and eight kilograms of a white powder that tested positive fentanyl in the basement of the township home, U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced this week.
Agents also found approximately 30,000 bags of prepackaged heroin, a .45 caliber handgun and a 9mm 50-round drum magazine, Honig added.
The DEA investigation began in January, with video recordings, physical surveillance, and phone and bank records revealing Clavijo, Gonzalez and others conspired in the drug trade, Special Agent Wivian Taveras wrote in the complaint.
On June 8, investigators watched as Gonzalez drove a box truck up to the township home, backing it to the door of the garage and then loaded it and drove it to a municipal dump, Taveras wrote.
Those bags were then searched, where investigators discovered evidence, including empty packages with residue that tested positive for heroin, fetanyl and cocaine.
There were also used cell phones, with some in their original boxes with the phone numbers written on them, the complaint states.
Some of Gonzalez's paystubs were also in the bags, listing his address as the township home, although the charges list him as a Pleasantville resident.
The charges did not list the home's address.
But when DEA agents arrived, they found Clavico just inside and Gonzalez in the basement, where much of the drugs were, the complaint states.
The DEA agents were aided by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs, Guns & Narcotics Unit, the Atlantic County SWAT team, Egg Harbor Township police and Linwood's K-9 Unit, Tyner said.
“I am very proud of the work our law enforcement partners are doing to fight the effects that drugs are having on the citizens and visitors of Atlantic County and our state," Bruce DeShields, Atlantic County chief of investigators. "In Atlantic County we are committed to our fight to lower our overdoses and drug-related deaths through a combination of enforcement actions and treatment programs. An investigation with a seizure of this caliber is going to save a lot of lives.”
Both men had their first appearances and are being held without bail at the Salem County jail, which is one of the county jails that holds those charged federally.
The conspiracy count is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison with a maximum of life, along with a fine of $10 million, or twice the gross gain or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greatest.
