An Atlantic City man is jailed after Ventnor police say they found a loaded gun and drugs in his vehicle.
Malik T. El, 52, caught an officer's attention when she saw him driving without lights at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Lt. David Gaeckle said.
El then gave Officer Morgan Connon a fraudulent identification card, according to the report.
An investigation found El had an active warrant for his arrest for a failure to appear out of Absecon.
When he was taken into custody, a search led to drugs found on him, Gaeckle said.
The vehicle was then searched, and police found cocaine, heroin, cash and a loaded handgun, according to the charges.
El was charged with multiple counts of drug possession and intent to distribute, along with providing a false government document, hindering, refusing to submit to processing and weapons offenses, including certain person not to possess a weapon.
He also was issued several traffic citations, including driving while suspended.
Police Chief Joseph Fussner credited the arrest to the proactive efforts of his officers.
“Anytime you can take drugs off the street it is a big deal," Fussner said. " "In this case, our officers were able to keep a lot of people safe by seizing these dangerous drugs.”
Platoon 2 officers and the Detective Bureau assisted with the investigation.
