RIO GRANDE – The Middle Township Police Department Street Crimes Unit has been operating for approximately seven weeks and working very closely with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force. To date, the Street Crimes Unit has seized 1,210 bags of heroin with a street value of $12,100; 86 bags of crack cocaine with street value of $1,700; and $3,382 in U.S. currency. The Street Crimes Unit has made 17 arrests and conducted court-authorized search warrants at the Catalina Motel, Beach House Motel, Shelton Motel and Silver Birch Motel. The Street Crimes Unit uncovered a counterfeit money scheme operating out of the Beach House Motel and solved a case where graffiti was being sprayed on bus stops in Rio Grande. While conducting surveillance at the Beach House Motel, Street Crimes Unit members observed a heroin overdose in the parking lot and administered Narcan to the subject. Finally, the Street Crimes Unit assisted members of the Wildwood Police Department and Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office with a court-authorized search warrant in Whitesboro where a suspect in an attempted murder case from a shooting in Wildwood was arrested.
“The impressive results achieved in such a short time by our Street Crimes Unit confirm the merits of proactive policing,” Public Safety Director Tim Donohue said. “Our efforts over the last few years to increase the number of officers on our force are paying real dividends. As we prepare the 2016 budget, we are working hard to ensure the funding is there to make the return of this vital unit permanent.”
Chief Leusner stated, “I said in December that if you engage in criminal activity in Middle Township, specifically in and around our motels, we would find you and arrest you. The members of the Middle Township Police Department Street Crimes Unit have done just that and we will continue with our aggressive enforcement strategy to keep our residents safe.”
