NJ Men Charged In Connection With 76 Overdoses Throughout The State

Three New Jersey men have been charged for their involvement in an drug ring that allegedly pumped out drugs that led to statewide overdoses. The State Attorney General’s office said the lethal fentanyl that the ring produced killed residents in seven separate New Jersey counties.

NorthJersey.com reports State and federal authorities arrested Whydia Durham, 46, of Union; Dereemus Botts, 34, of Irvington; and Nelson Johnson, 30, of Newark and charged them with overseeing an operation that produced narcotics linked to 76 suspected overdoses, 29 of which ended in fatality.

The arrests come after a Saturday raid, which resulted in the seizure of seven kilograms of fentanyl and 59 different rubber stamps mill operators use to "brand" the wax folds in which they packaged their drugs, they said in announcing the arrests.

NJ law enforcement officials said the raids are part of an ongoing effort to rid the state of the lethal opioid that has considerably driven overdose fatality. “We are focusing our efforts on the deadliest mills in New Jersey to choke off the supply of these highly potent drugs at the source where they are mixed and packaged,” State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “The poison that the criminals operating this mill pushed out across New Jersey is alleged to have claimed at least 29 lives.”

The State Police's Opioid Enforcement Task Force, which led the investigation, was created to attack the supply of illegal opioids, the statement said.

Made up of federal agents and local, state and county officers, the unit focuses specifically on the mills that package heroin and fentanyl for street distribution.

In 2019, New Jersey saw 2,732 overdose deaths. That same year, 3,990,809 prescriptions for opioids were written in the state. New Jersey ranks among the highest states in the country for opioid fatality.