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Two men face drug conspiracy charges after they were found Saturday at a rest stop in Hunterdon County with  more than 20 kilograms of fentanyl, authorities said.

Denny Diaz, 29, of Philadelphia and Luis Aponte, 48, of Hesperia, California, made appearances Monday in federal court in Newark, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. Both remain in custody without bail.

Aponte on Friday drove a tractor trailer from California to a rest stop in Bloomsbury where he stayed, according to court documents. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration were following him. On Saturday, Aponte got out of a truck with a backpack, which DEA agents later identified had fentanyl inside, and into a Jeep that Diaz was driving.

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Authorities saw Aponte remove a plastic bag from the backpack and put it behind the driver’s seat before driving off, according to court documents. Both were later stopped in the Jeep by authorities where they searched it and discovered fentanyl, heroin and $17,000 in cash. They were both arrested.      

If convicted, Diaz and Aponte could face at least 10 years in prison, Carpenito said in a statement.

State officials have previously said plans were being put in place to reduce prescriptions for opioids such as fentanyl as part of the drug abuse New Jersey continues to battle. In October, state Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal said $10 million of the $100 million pledge made by Gov. Phil Murphy would be used to combat opioid abuse. 

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Meanwhile, fentanyl has lead to a death and later an arrest. The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office charged a 20-year-old Wayne man in the overdose death of a Jefferson man who died in June 2018.

 

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