Narcotics Squad

The Union County Police Department Narcotics Squad was formed by Chief Richard Mannix in November of 1987. The primary focus of the Narcotics Squad is to investigate and surveil all county owned, rented and leased properties of the County of Union for narcotics activity. In depth investigations and on scene arrests are routine for this unit. Over the years, the Union County Police Narcotics Squad has been involved with assisting other law enforcement

agencies within Union County in narcotics investigations, apprehensions of narcotics violators and testimony in the court cases.

Routinely, members of the Narcotics Squad are loaned out to the Union County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics Strike Force, United States Customs, United States Drug Enforcement Administration and various other local law enforcement agencies. Within the last five years, members of this unit participated in Operation "Autumn Harvest" that focused on the narcotic street dealers within the City of Plainfield. A member of this unit was utilized as an undercover police officer which resulted in the filing of 302 criminal complaints against 108 defendants. Another member of this unit acted in an undercover capacity within the City of Linden conducting narcotics transactions resulting in the arrest and conviction of 19 vice violators.

One member acted in an undercover capacity within the Township of Hillside eradicating narcotics transactions within a local governmental service of the township.

Recently all of the members of this unit were involved in a multi-jurisdictional operation supervised by the Union County Prosecutors Office and the Plainfield Police Division Narcotics Unit termed "Quality of Life". These members were directly involved in the arrest of 441 adults and 28 juveniles through the on-scene arrests, undercover narcotics purchases, surveillances, search warrants and vice violations throughout the city of Plainfield.

The Union County Police Department Narcotics Squad also becomes involved in the investigations and apprehensions of individuals involved in vice violations within the County of Union. In 1989 this unit assisted the Township of Union in the abatement of vice violations on Route 22, Union. This resulted in the arrest and conviction of 19 vice violators.

On October 4, 1992 this unit received information from the Hillside Police Department that there was a large marijuana ‘grow’ on county property within Hillside. After a surveillance, an individual was arrested and all of the marijuana plants were seized resulting in the largest marijuana ‘grow’ seizure in Union County history.