Police say they found $175,000 worth of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana packaged for sale.
Police say they found two pistols, a bullet-proof vest, machetes, throwing stars and packaged drugs at a home on Lackawanna Avenue in East Stroudsburg. An investigation that began in October led the Monroe County Drug Task Force to shut down a major drug trafficking operation Friday in East Stroudsburg, according to a news release issued today.
Police identified the leader as Andres Lopez, who came to the U.S. illegally from the Dominican Republic. Lopez uses the alias Jose Luis Torres, police said. Lopez, 36, and his pregnant wife, Jennifer Lopez, were home at the time of the search with their three young children, according to the release. Monroe County Children and Youth Services took the children, ages 5, 8 and 10 into custody, according to the release.
Pennsylvania State Police and members of the Monroe County Drug Task Force searched 38 Lackawanna Ave. on Friday, where they discovered heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in a bedroom, police said. The drugs, together valued at almost $175,000, were packaged in varying weights for distribution to customers, police said. Police also found $10,000 in cash, packaging material, cellphones and a ballistic vest in the bedroom, according to court papers. A video monitor near the bed showed images from three surveillance cameras outside the home, according to court documents. There was a semiautomatic pistol on the headboard of the bed the couple shared, according to court documents.
In the closet of a second bedroom, police found 30 bags of heroin and a bag of cocaine packaged for distribution, according to court documents. Police said they found a pistol on a TV stand and ammunition in the closet. They also discovered a marijuana grinder and pipe, according to court documents.
Police also found machetes and throwing stars in the house, according to the news release.
Jennifer Lopez's brother, Anthony Perez-Cuenca, was also home at the time, according to the release. Police took Andres and Jennifer Lopez and Perez-Cuenca into custody, according to the release. They are charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of instruments of a crime, endangering the welfare of minors and criminal conspiracy, according to the release.
Police said Andres Lopez used Laura Persia and Kenneth Bryant to deliver drugs. They were also arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and related offenses, police said. They are both incarcerated in Monroe County Correctional Facility, Bryant in lieu of $25,000 bail and Persia in lieu of $5,000.
Andres Lopez is in Monroe County Correctional Facility in lieu of $300,000 bail, according to the release. Perez-Cuenca is also in Monroe County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail, according to the release. Jennifer Lopez posted $100,000 bail and is free pending a hearing before Magisterial District Judge Michael Muth, according to the release.