| TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced today that a Philadelphia man was arrested without incident on Saturday morning in the parking lot of the Deptford Mall in Gloucester County for allegedly possessing a kilogram of cocaine, worth about $40,000, that was intended for sale in Atlantic City.
Eduardo Colon-Lopez, 36, was arrested by law enforcement members assigned to the Atlantic City Task Force (ACTF), which is comprised of investigators from state, county and municipal agencies. He was charged with first-degree cocaine possession and first-degree drug possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson set bail at $250,000. First-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $200,000.
Colon-Lopez’s arrest was part of an ongoing investigation by the ACTF into an alleged conspiracy to distribute bulk quantities of cocaine in Atlantic City. Up until his arrest, Colon-Lopez was known to the ACTF only as “Papito.” To apprehend him, an undercover New Jersey State Police trooper had ingratiated himself to Colon-Lopez over several weeks and had convinced the alleged drug dealer to complete a transaction for the cocaine in broad daylight at the mall parking lot.
Acting Attorney General Hoffman thanked the members of the ACTF that participated in the arrest, including the Division of Criminal Justice, Division of State Police, Department of Homeland Security, Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, Atlantic City Police Department and the Pleasantville Police Department. #### |
