Police: Man in I-78 traffic stop had almost two dozen altered credit cards, gift cards

By Manuel Gamiz Jr., Of The Morning Call
2:56 p.m. EDT, August 5, 2014

A Sierra Leone man going through deportation proceedings was arrested by state troopers in Salisbury Township early Tuesday after he was found with several fake credit cards and gift cards in his car, according to court records.

Ziggy M. Garvie, 28, of Jersey City, N.J., was charged with 23 counts each of possession of an access device knowing its counterfeit or altered and possession of an instrument of crime. He was arraigned by District Judge Michael Faulkner and sent to Lehigh County Jail under $100,000 bail.

According to a criminal complaint:

Garvie was stopped at 1:30 a.m. on Interstate 78 westbound near Lehigh Street in Salisbury Township after a state trooper saw him change lanes without signaling and then continue over the fog line before correcting the mistake.
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The trooper said Garvie was driving and only had his Sierra Leone passport on him. He said he drove because the passenger, Meko T. Williams, who did have a license was too tired to drive.

The two men said they were heading to Louisiana for a funeral, but they had no luggage in the car. The car was rented in the name of a third person.

Police said Williams had a long criminal history and Garvie had an arrest warrant out of Michigan for computer fraud. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials told police that Garvie has an active deportation proceeding.

Police gave Garvie a warning for the lane violation and driving without a license and conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle, finding a wallet under the passenger side of the car. The wallet contained Garvie's identification and 23 credit cards and gift cards, which appeared to have been altered for fraudulent use.

Garvie was arrested and Williams was released from the scene, police said.

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