He was also carrying 22 pounds of cocaine, authorities say.
A 40-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in New Jersey state prison after he was arrested in August carrying 141 pounds of heroin and 22 pounds of cocaine in a tractor-trailer that was stopped by New Jersey State Police in Warren County, authorities say.
Henry A. Cruz Ventura. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Henry A. Cruz Ventura pleaded guilty May 5 to a charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office's Division of Criminal Justice said Monday in a news release.
The drugs were worth $5.4 million, authorities said in 2016.
Ventura was sentenced by state Superior Court Judge H. Matthew Curry.
"The 64 kilos of heroin seized from Ventura's tractor-trailer could have generated several million doses of heroin once cut and packaged for distribution," Attorney General Porrino said in the news release. "Thanks to the vigilance of Trooper (James) Agens, this deadly cargo never reached the streets of our communities, and undoubtedly lives were saved that would have been lost to overdoses."
The amount of heroin recovered "ranks as one of the largest seizures of heroin by law enforcement in U.S. history," the news release said.
The truck was stopped by the state police Mobile Safe Freight Unit for a "routine commercial safety inspection" on I-78 in Greenwich Township, authorities say. Agens observed "suspicious behavior" by Ventura and "irregularities" with the truck and its cargo, the attorney general's office said.
Agens and Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Mistretta had the truck moved to the nearby weigh station and got an OK to search, authorities said.
Four boxes, which were "inconsistent" with the stated cargo, contained the drugs, the attorney general's office said.
"Seizures on this scale have a major and immediate impact in cutting off the supply line of these deadly and corrosive drugs in New Jersey and the region," Director Elie Honig of the state's Division of Criminal Justice said in the news release. "We'll continue to target large-scale heroin traffickers as well as those who run the pill mills that are fueling addiction by illegally supplying the black market for prescription opiates."
Agens was named trooper of the year for his efforts in this bust and another one May 12 during a commercial safety check on I-78 that yielded 33 pounds of heroin, the news release said.
"Trooper James Agens earned the highest award given by the New Jersey State Police for his extraordinary drug interdiction efforts in 2016, and he is commended along with the Mobile Safe Freight Unit for their hard work and dedication," Col. Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the state police, said in the news release.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.