Two central New Jersey residents and one person from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania have been arrested on charges related to heroin trafficking. Montgomery County district attorney Kevin R. Steele, Mercer County prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri and Bucks County, Pennsylvania district attorney Matt Weintraub announce the arrests today.
The three people arrested on Nov. 14 are Sabree Burke, 30, of Huntington Valley in Montgomery County; Roderick McKinney, 24, of Trenton; and Stanley Akers, 21, of Hamilton.
The arrests came after a multi-jurisdictional investigation into a heroin drug trafficking organization that spanned both states. Officials say that at the time of their arrests, all three defendants had a significant amount of heroin and cash on their person and in their residences.
Officials say that Burke was in possession of 130 bricks of heroin (equal to 6,500 packets), a loaded .40 caliber Ruger with an obliterated serial number and $1,454 cash. They say McKinney was in possession of 71 bricks of heroin (equal to 3,550 packets) and $500 cash, and they say Akers was in possession of 50 bricks of heroin (equal to 2,500 packets) and $3,730 cash.
The heroin bricks, each stamped with “Louis Vuitton” in red lettering, were worth a combined street value of more than $100,000, officials say.
The investigation was led by the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force, Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Narcotics Enforcement Team, and the Bucks County Detectives’ Strike Force. Also participating in this investigation were the Abington Township Police Department, Hamilton Township Police Division, Princeton Police Department, Trenton Police Department, DEA, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department K-9.
Burke was charged with felony Possession with Intent to Deliver, Person Not to Possess a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm with an Altered Serial Number and related charges. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Christopher J. Cerski, who set bail at $500,000 cash. After failing to make bail, Burke was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing was set for 2 p.m., Nov. 26.
McKinney and Akers were each charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute within 500 feet of a park. They are being held at the Mercer County Correction Center pending detention hearings on Nov. 20.
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