Cops Break Up Alleged Cocaine Distribution Operation in Point Pleasant Beach, 5 Arrested

Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)

Authorities say they have arrested five Point Pleasant Beach residents in what is alleged to have been a cocaine distribution operation based there.

Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Strike Force collaborated with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and Point Pleasant Beach police to conduct a investigation into the distribution of cocaine in the local area. The cooperative, two month-long investigation identified a residence in Point Pleasant Beach as being utilized by Pablo Lezama, 43, Magdaleno Navasantos, 45, Felix Pacheco, 31, Miguel Alonso, 27, and Angel Pacheco, 44 – all residents of Point Pleasant Beach – to “store and distribute cocaine,” a statement said.

Detectives began surveillance on the residence in Point Pleasant Beach (the address was not provided in the statement) and, on March 17, the Ocean County Northern Regional SWAT Team executed a court-authorized search warrant on the residence. As a result, law enforcement seized a quantity of cocaine individually packaged for distribution, as well as drug paraphernalia “indicative of narcotics manufacturing and distribution,” the statement said.

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All five suspects were arrested at the residence on March 17, 2023. According to prosecutors:

• Lezama was charged with Possession of Less than One-Half Ounce of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Hindering Apprehension. Lezama was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
• Navasantos was charged with Possession of Less than One-Half Ounce of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Cocaine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Navasantos was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
• Felix Pacheco was charged with Possession of Less than One-Half Ounce of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Cocaine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Pacheco was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
• Alonso was charged with Possession of Less than One-Half Ounce of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Hindering Apprehension. Alonso was served with the charges via summons pending an upcoming first appearance in Ocean County Superior Court.
• Angel Pacheco was charged with Possession of Less than One-Half Ounce of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Cocaine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Pacheco was served with the charges via summons pending an upcoming first appearance in Ocean County Superior Court.