Authorities Seize $100K in Cocaine, Nab Two Suspected Dealers

A successful raid led to the seizure of more than $100,000 in cocaine, a cache of weapons and about tens of thousands of dollars in cold, hard cash, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said in a statement Saturday.

According to Murray, in a joint investigation with the prosecutor's "Viper Unit," Newark detectives learned large quantities of cocaine had been stored and sold at a building on the 500 block of South 11th Street, prompting a raid on Friday night.

"Detectives seized more than two kilos of cocaine, approximately two pounds of marijuana, a machine gun, two rifles and eight handguns and cash," Murray stated in the news release.

The cocaine alone was valued at $100,000, prosecutors claim. More than $60,000 in cash was also found at the building.

Newark Police Director Samuel Demaio said inter-agency cooperation shows law enforcement can go head-to-head against the violent elements of the city's drug trade.

"The arrests made tonight are a testament to how much success can be realized when we collaborate with our partners in law enforcement and focus on the ultimate end which is battling the war on drugs with the full force of our resources to stop violence in the streets of our great city." 

Following the raid, Jamiyl Sha'Rah Crapps, of Hillsdale, and Altarik Rashea Mack, of Newark, both 36, were arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana; possession with the intent to distribute; possession with the intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a school and 500 feet of public property; eight counts of unlawful possession of a firearm; and possession of a firearm while committing a narcotics offense.

Both remain at the Essex County Correctional Facility, with bail set at $400,000 for Crapps and $150,000 for Mack. The investigation remains active, Murray said.