A five-month narcotics investigation in Mercer County resulted in the seizure of more than $127,000 worth of drugs and several firearms and led to the arrest of a Roebling man.
Mercer County Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey announced that the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force concluded the investigation this week with one arrest and the seizure of narcotics, three handguns and a shotgun.
The investigation was conducted by the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the New Jersey State Police, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ewing and Hamilton police departments.
Search warrants were obtained for Ronald C. Smith and several locations in Ewing, Trenton and Roebling.
At approximately 6:50 a.m. March 2, detectives detained Smith at his residence on Norman Avenue in Roebling.
A search of the residence yielded approximately $9,500 and assorted financial records.
Investigators said Smith was found to be in possession of keys that accessed a property on New Trent Street in Ewing, an apartment on Old Rose Street in Trenton, and a padlock on a shed located on Brenwal Avenue in Ewing.
During the execution of a search warrant on New Trent Street, detectives located approximately 100 grams of crack cocaine, one brick of heroin, two high-capacity magazines and assorted ammunition.
At the Brenwal Avenue location, detectives recovered a .380 caliber handgun and a single-barrel shotgun.
Hamilton Police K-9 handler Paul Piromalli and his K-9 partner, Loki, conducted a narcotics sniff of the property.
Police said Loki gave a positive indication for the presence of narcotics odor in a detached shed on the property.
A search of the shed yielded approximately 700 grams of powder cocaine, 40 bricks of heroin and 10 grams of raw heroin.
During the search of the Old Rose Street residence, detectives located 1,800 ecstasy tablets, five bricks of heroin, a 9mm Beretta handgun and a stolen 9mm Springfield handgun.
Smith, 43, was charged with multiple first- and second-degree narcotics offenses and multiple second-degree weapons offenses.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a motion to detain him pending trial.
According to Marbrey, the approximate street value of the confiscated narcotics includes $70,000 in powder cocaine, $10,000 in crack cocaine, $9,200 in pre-packaged heroin, $2,000 in raw heroin and $36,000 in ecstasy tablets.
“Despite having been charged, every defendant is presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” the prosecutor’s office said.
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