A Union City man was busted with an AK-47-style assault rifle, ammunition, and approximately half a kilogram of cocaine as part of a narcotics investigation, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Mervin Menier, 50, of Union City, was charged with first-degree possession of over five ounces of cocaine with the intent to distribute, second-degree possession of an assault rifle, second-degree possession of a firearm during a CDS offense, second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, and fourth-degree possession of high capacity magazines, Musella said in a statement.
He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
On October 18th, an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force revealed that Menier was transporting bulk shipments of narcotics through Bergen County.
During this investigation, a search was conducted on his vehicle in Carlstadt.
That search revealed a sophisticated, electronically operated hidden compartment that was discovered in the rear floor of Menier’s vehicle and which contained an AK-47 style assault rifle, multiple high-capacity magazines for the assault rifle, numerous boxes of ammunition, and approximately one-half kilo of cocaine.
As a result, Menier was arrested at the scene of the search.
Back in March 2016, Menier was one of two North Hudson men charged (a dozen were charged overall) in an internet-based drug dealing scheme known as “Operation Skin Deep,” the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said at the time.
Musella also thanked Homeland Security Investigations – Newark Division, the Bayonne Police Department, and the Union City Police Department for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.
