STAFFORD – After a seven-month investigation, authorities have arrested four people responsible for several overdose incidents in southern Ocean County.
An investigation began in April 2022 as local police responded to numerous heroin and fentanyl overdoses linked to wax paper folds stamped “Beetlejuice.”
The Stafford Township Drug Enforcement Unit and the New Jersey State Police Crime Suppression South Unit worked together to identify the source of these drugs which were responsible for 39 overdose incidents, 22 of which were fatal in Stafford Township and Atlantic County.
Police identified 27-year-old Kai Sylvester of Somers Point as the main distributor of the heroin/fentanyl. Police also identified three other people who worked with Sylvester to distribute in Stafford Township and Atlantic County.
The investigation led to nine search warrants of vehicles, homes and storage facilities. As a result, authorities seized the following evidence: Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver (reported stolen from Galloway), Glock 19 9mm handgun, Ruger 9mm handgun, Taurus 9mm handgun, FN Five-Seven 5.7mm handgun, Bushmaster .233 AR-15 Rifle, large quantity of ammunition, extended pistol magazine, multiple pistol magazines, 30 round .223 magazine, 13,000 individual wax paper folds of heroin/fentanyl, 100 grams of cocaine, 24.3 grams of methamphetamine, 71.3 grams of crack cocaine, various CDS packaging materials, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and $14,205.
Sylvester, along with 28-year-old Abdul Shakur Hopewell of Atlantic City, 39-year-old Javon Brooks of Atlantic City, and 49-year-old Leland Loftin of Atlantic City, were arrested. All were transported to the New Jersey State Police Crime Suppression South Office for processing.
Sylvester, Brooks and Hopewell were charged with various 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree Drug Distribution and Weapon Offenses, Possession of Firearms in Commission of a CDS Offense, and Promoting Organized Street Crime. All three were later transported to the Atlantic County Jail. Leland Loftin was charged with 3rd degree CDS offenses and released on criminal complaint summonses pending a future superior court date in Atlantic County.
The Stafford Township Drug Enforcement Unit thanked the NJSP Crime Suppression South Unit, as well as the following agencies for their assistance in this investigation: NJSP TEAMS, Atlantic County SWAT, Ocean County SWAT, NJSP K9 Unit, Department of Criminal Justice, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Unit, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Stafford Township Detective Bureau, Barnegat Township Crime Reduction Unit, Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force, Atlantic County Sheriff’s Department, NJSP Motor Vehicle South Unit, NJSP Weapons and Drug Trafficking, and NJSP Gang and Organized Crime South Unit.
The public are reminded that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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