November 21, 2009

Suffern drug sweep nets eight arrests on cocaine charges

Laura Incalcaterra

SUFFERN — Eight men face felony drug charges after a lengthy police investigation into cocaine distribution in the village.

Each of the eight has been arrested and charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance, both felonies, Police Chief Clarke Osborn said.

A police investigation has been under way since spring, led by the Suffern Police Department and the Rockland County Narcotics Task Force, Suffern Detective Craig Long said.

Once the suspected dealers were identified, police sought indictments, Long said.

The men were allegedly selling cocaine to people they knew in a discreet manner, he said.

Using the sealed indictments, and with the assistance of the New York-New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officers conducted a sweep that led to the arrests Thursday and Friday, Long said.

The following were arrested and charged: Carlos Garcia, 18, of 72B Washington Ave. in Suffern; Edwin Marrufo, 22, of 35 Prairie Ave. in Suffern; Juan Jose Martinez, 30, of 35 Wayne Ave. in Suffern; Michael O’Keefe, 23, of 111 N. Magnolia St. in Pearl River; Alfredo Minchala Torres, 39, of 29 Memorial Park Drive in Spring Valley; and Juan Utreda, 23, of 56 Orange Ave. in Suffern. All were sent to the Rockland County jail without bail and were being held on sealed indictments issued by the Rockland County Court, Long said.

Also arrested were Conrado Salas, 34, of 260 Franklin Turnpike in Mahwah, N.J.; and Juan Leon, 33, of 1 Rolling Ridge Ave., Apartment D, in Montvale, N.J. Both were being held in the Bergen County Jail, where they were awaiting extradition to Rockland , Long said.

Long said one suspect may have re-entered the country illegally, while the legal status of several others was under review.

Rockland County Sheriff's Department Detective Lt. William Barbera said Garcia, Marrufo, Torres and Utreda were being held in the jail on federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, holds, suspected of being in the country illegally. The Sheriff's Department oversees the jail.

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