Authorities say they dismantled a big drug ring in New Jersey and New York earlier this year, arresting four people and seizing more than 125 pounds of cocaine and $520,000 in cash from both states.
The arrests began on Jan. 14 when State Police observed the alleged ringleader, Kwang Joo, 40, handing off a duffel bag to someone who was later hauled over in Paterson, according to the State Attorney General’s Office. According to troopers, they seized approximately 20 pounds of cocaine during the stop.
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Then, on February 6, investigators detained one of Joo’s regular couriers, Benjamin Oser, in Queens, New York, after Joo delivered him goods in Palisades Park. Officials allege that the truck contained roughly 31 pounds of cocaine.
On another occasion, Joo sent Sung Sohn a suitcase containing over 73 pounds of cocaine.
Authorities eventually secured a search warrant and discovered money, additional cocaine and other contraband, two handguns, a rifle, and large-capacity ammunition magazines at a stash location, according to the OAG.
In total, investigators recovered approximately 125 pounds of cocaine, 2.5 pounds of ketamine, a half-pound of tusi (pink cocaine), and nearly two pounds of MDMA (ecstasy), as well as more than $500,000 in cash.
The bust also yielded around four pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, 38,337 Adderall tablets, five pounds of marijuana, 332 Xanax pills, and 42 oxycodone pills.
Joo of Palisades Park is accused of managing a drug trafficking network, as well as more than a dozen counts of possession of currency gained from illegal activity, drug possession/distribution, and weapons crimes.
Hannah Oh, 29, of Palisades Park; Sohn, 45, of Englewood Cliffs; and Oser, 41, of Fort Lee were also taken into custody and accused.
While Sohn and Oser are accused of selling and possessing drugs, Oh is also charged with running a drug facility and money laundering.
Oh, who was released after her detention hearing, is due for a pre-indictment session on May 19. Her attorney, Bloomfield-based Max Novel, stated that Oh was dating Joo but had no involvement in the suspected narcotics activity.
“In the discovery I received, the only mention of her is that she was present when a search warrant was executed,” Novel stated. In 66 pages of police reports, she’s never once implicated in any narcotics transactions.”
There is no counsel listed for Joo.
