Police arrest 7 in Rutgers U. social media drug ring bust
New Jersey-area law enforcement agencies have arrested seven people thought to be connected with a private social media drug network serving students at Rutgers University.
The Middlesex County, New Jersey, prosecutor’s office announced the arrests on Dec. 5 upon concluding an interagency undercover operation they’d named “Operation RU Pharm.” The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force led the operation with the help of the Rutgers University Police Department, New Brunswick Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, uncovering stores of drugs, “a large amount of U.S. currency,” and a firearm.
The drugs recovered included marijuana, LSD, cocaine, psilocybin mushrooms, Adderall and Xanax.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the social media network was operated by a former Rutgers University student. The network reportedly included “menus for drugs” available to university students.
“Rutgers students who established their affiliation with the school were allowed to join the network and once given access, they were able to browse menus posted by distributors and contact them in order to negotiate purchases,” reads a press release from the office of Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.
The charges brought against the seven arrested range from “first-degree leader of a drug trafficking network” to disorderly persons offenses.
