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Route 17 Stop: Mahwah Police Seize Pound Of Cocaine, Arrest 2 NYC Men

MAHWAH, N.J. – A Mahwah police officer found a pound of cocaine and arrested two Orange County men during a routine Route 17 traffic stop, authorities said.

Carlos O. Aviles, Joseph J. Abreu-Martir,

Carlos O. Aviles, Joseph J. Abreu-Martir,

Photo Credit: MUGSHOTS: Mahwah PD

Inconsistencies and nervous behavior from the driver and his passenger drew Officer Chris Fasulo’s suspicions during the 12:15 a.m. stop on the northbound highway Thursday, Police Chief James Batelli told Daily Voice.

The driver, 26-year-old Carlos O. Aviles, said “he was heading back to upstate New York after driving back from an airport in New York City,” Batelli said.

A consented search turned up the uncut cocaine – worth $30,000 on the street --- in a brown paper bag, the chief said.

More than $2,000 found in the car was also seized, he said.

Fasulo, assisted by Sgt. Michael Blondin and Officer Thomas Mitchell, arrested Aviles and his passenger, Joseph J. Abreu-Martir, 19, on drug possession charges.

A judge ordered Aviles and Abrea-Marti, both of Middletown, N.Y. held in the Bergen County Jail pending detention hearings in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

Police will seek to have the cash forfeited, the chief said.

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