Detectives find more than 1,500 heroin packets under car hood, sheriff says

Several face drug charges

NEWARK -- Essex County Sheriff's detectives seized more than 1,500 packets of heroin from under the hood of a car and charged five people after undercover investigations in the city, authorities said Tuesday.

Plainclothes detectives conducted surveillance around noon Monday near South 18th Street and Avon Avenue after complaints of drug dealing in the area, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

Alquan Jenkins, 27, Quadri Cureton, 34, both of Newark and Camall Baines, 31 of, Orange were spotted loitering in front of a South 18th Street building, the sheriff said. With detectives watching, two men exchanged items for cash with Cureton and Baines.

Authorities followed the duo -- identified as Robert Lee, 48 of Irvington, and John Gosser, 27 of Newark -- and stopped them away from the exchange, Fontoura added. Sheriff's officers found the two had glassine packets of heroin, stamped with "PASSION."

During the search, a sheriff's officer was stuck with a needle that Lee was carrying, according to Fontoura.

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Back at the original area under surveillance, detectives saw Jenkins move "small packets" from the trunk of his 2000 Cadillac de Ville and put them under the hood of his car, according to authorities. 

"At this point, our sheriff's officers moved in to further investigate," Fontoura said in a statement. "From under the hood of Jenkin's car we discovered and seized an additional 1,540 heroin-filled glassine envelops."

Cureton had three decks of heroin and Baines and one deck of the drug, the sheriff said. Baines, Cureton, Lee and Gosser were charged with various drug offenses. Jenkins also faces charges including possession with the intent to distribute drugs within 1,000 feet of Madison Avenue School.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.