Cache of drugs and weapons seized by Irvington police

Photo Courtesy of Mayor Tony Vauss
Drug paraphernalia, currency and weapons were seized as police executed a warrant at a 22nd Street location.

IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington Police Department and New Jersey State Police have executed warrants and recovered large amounts of money, cocaine and semi-automatic weapons on Friday, Oct. 11..

According to a recent press release from Mayor Tony Vauss’ administration, members of the Irvington Police Department, with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police TEAMS Unit, executed numerous search warrants after receiving information of narcotic distribution in several locations around the township.

Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss said he is committed to making Irvington a better place for its residents.

“Once again, our Police Department is working tirelessly to keep up with our motto of keeping Irvington streets clean and safe,” Vauss told the Record-Transcript on Monday, Oct. 14. “This is another testament to my commitment to do just that. If your goal is to commit crimes within the township of Irvington, then you have selected the wrong township, because we will not tolerate it.”

The first arrest was of a 56-year-old resident of 22nd Street who allegedly attempted to distribute cocaine. When a warrant was executed at the apartment where he was residing, large amounts of cocaine, packing material and more than $6,500 in U.S. currency were seized, along with an AR-15 rifle, three semi-automatic handguns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and an extended magazine capable of holding as many as 29 rounds. At the time of arrest, the suspect had approximately $3,000 currency and 29 grams of cocaine on him. Police have not released his name, pending further investigation.

The second arrest was of a 42-year-old male, who was arrested after a search warrant was executed at his Berkshire Place residence after the Irvington Police Department had received numerous complaints from the community regarding heavy motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area.

During the execution of the warrant, a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with 13 hollow point rounds of ammunition, 29 extra rounds of ammunition, marijuana, more than 1,500 MDMA — commonly referred to as “molly” — and $803 in U.S. currency were recovered, according to officials.

Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers said he wants to continue efforts in making Irvington safer.

“Officers did a tremendous job throughout the course of this investigation,” Bowers said to the Irvington Herald in a phone interview on Monday, Oct. 14. “We were glad that we were able to get bad people off of the street and make our community safer.”

Both investigations are active and ongoing, and more arrests may be made in the future, according to Bowers. No further information has been released at this time.