Crime & Safety

Arizona Man Busted with $3.1M in Cocaine, Cops Say

An Arizona man was charged with transporting $3.1 million worth of cocaine through the township after authorities made the discovery following a routine traffic stop on Eagle Rock Avenue Wednesday, according to West Orange Police.

Cops first noticed a car driving in a hazardous manner near Eagle Rock Reservation around 4 p.m. Wednesday and pulled the vehicle over, according to a statement from the township.

West Orange Police apprehended Gary W. Adams, 37, of Wittmann, Arizona and executed a search warrant on his car when they discovered 42 kilos of cocaine, officials said. 

Find out what's happening in West Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

West Orange Police called in the DEA after making the find.

Adams has no ties to the area and there was no evidence that West Orange was the point of distribution of the drugs, according to the statement.

Find out what's happening in West Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Adams was charged with NJ criminal statutes, including possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public park, according to police.

“This arrest uncovered a large amount of drugs valued at millions of dollars and locked up the responsible individual,” said Police Chief James P. Abbott. “I want to commend both law enforcement agencies for making our communities safer by working together to take this criminal off of the streets.”  

Bail was set at $500,000 and Adams was transported to the Essex County jail.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.