Raids dubbed 'Borderline' and 'Midway' have totaled 42 arrests in the past week
ESSEX COUNTY — Law enforcers today stepped up a war of attrition against the street-level narcotics trade, saying they have snared 19 more suspects in a Newark-East Orange dragnet dubbed "Operation Borderline."
"This operation has really just begun," said Jose Cordero, East Orange’s police director, as he stood shoulder-to-shoulder today with acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino and a horde of police brass at a noon press conference at the border along South Orange Avenue.
The latest arrests, on Thursday night, stemmed from five search warrants at four Newark locations, officials said, adding to the 23 arrests made in a companion sting called "Operation Midway" in the preceding days.
The "Operation Midway" arrests included 17 known members of the Bloods and Crips gangs who in some cases "joined forces" to carry out their crimes, Cordero said.
All told, the more than 40 suspects nabbed to date have been charged with 311 separate offenses, Cordero said.
Along East Orange’s Brookwood Street, outside an East Orange police Mobile Command Center carrying mug shots of the accused, Mayor Robert Bowser issued this warning: "You are going to get caught."
Neighbors, Laurino said, had been "held hostage" by the drug trade, leading to the creation of the joint law-enforcement task force. "People do not feel safe going out on the street," Laurino said.
To date, an undetermined quantity of heroin, cocaine and marijuana had been seized, he said.
Armando Fontoura, Essex County’s sheriff, said criminals should not be emboldened by widely reported budgetary cutbacks in the law-enforcement ranks. "Our army is the same army," he said. "We’re all fighting the same war ... Our army is still much bigger than yours."
As of mid-afternoon, a list of the accused had not yet been released.
| Authorities arrest more than 40 in Essex County drug bust |