19 charged in federal drug bust, including man charged with shooting 2 cops

Juan Figueroa, 21, listens at his detention hearing in Superior Court in Camden Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (Rebecca Everett | For NJ.com)

The two plainclothes police detectives who were shot in their car this summer were investigating a drug ring that authorities are now busting open.

And one of the men accused of shooting them was involved in the drug operation, federal prosecutors say.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey on Wednesday announced charges against 19 people who they say dealt crack, powder cocaine and heroin, and used violence in their operation not far from the waterfront in South Camden.

Among those charged is Juan "Puto" Figueroa, the man in state custody on charges that he fired at two Camden County police plainclothes detectives in their unmarked car.

Those detectives, who were wounded Aug. 7 at Broadway and Mount Vernon streets, had conducted surveillance on the drug operation earlier in the day, FBI Special Agent Michael Bowman attested in a lengthy affidavit made public Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Camden man was also accused of involvement in the Bloods gang based on what authorities saw in photos on his social media accounts.

"The state is acutely aware that they cannot convict him on the trumped up police shooting case so they are trying plan B, which will also fail," Figueroa's attorney, Robin Lord, said Thursday. "He is not guilty of all allegations."

The drug operation was also blamed for a shooting that killed a 49-year-old man and wounded another in April 2017.

They burned through cell phones quickly. And when they spoke, it was often in code words that investigators cracked, federal authorities say.

Heroin was "blue." Crack cocaine was "purple" and powder cocaine was "red."

And a quarter ounce of crack, roughly equivalent to 7 grams, was called a "Vick," referring to the jersey number of former Eagles (and Jets) quarterback Michael Vick.

The group's alleged leaders previously served prison time for running a Camden cocaine operation in 2001. Ronnie Lopez served more than nine years on a conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. Lopez's half-brother, Nelson Salcedo, served 10 years on drug charges.

The Pine Street blocks where authorities witnessed drug deals are one and a half miles from where Lopez and Salcedo were accused of storing drugs in the city in 2001.

"[Lopez] and [Salcedo] now are working together again," FBI Special Agent Michael Bowman wrote in an affidavit.

Investigators gathered evidence on the drug operation through cellphone records, recorded phone calls, intercepted text messages, confidential sources and 39 controlled drug buys.

Bowman noted in the affidavit that in the first few controlled buys of heroin, investigators would field test the drugs. But they started sending them to a lab for analysis after detecting fentanyl in the drug packages.

Eight of the defendants are still at large. The remaining were scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Joel Schneider.

If convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum of life, and a fine up to $10 million.

Charged were:

(The suspects are from Camden unless otherwise noted. Bolded names are still at large.)

  • Nelson Salcedo, 48
  • Ronnie Lopez, 40, Pennsauken
  • Paul Salcedo, 28
  • Carlos Perez, 45, Collingswood
  • Juan Figueroa, 21
  • Jose Diaz, 26
  • Christopher Vazquez, 28
  • Ramon Velez, 43
  • David Velez, 30
  • Waldemar Garcia, 33
  • Naeem Sadler, 18
  • Kaliel Johnson, 26
  • Jasmin Velez, 25
  • Elisa Rivera, 28
  • Meylin Troncoso, 31
  • Dwight Williams, 27, Mount Holly
  • William Carrillo, 44
  • Jose Agron, 25
  • Jameel Byng, 25

-This story has been updated with comment from Juan Figueroa's attorney.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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