Abdullah’s reputation for violence was further solidified by a 2006 conviction for possession of a machine gun, along with a quantity of cocaine, following his arrest in an apartment in Newark. His co-defendant in that case, Saud Goosby, was later gunned down on the streets of Newark, said Romankow.
Members of the Union County Narcotics Strike Force began investigating a drug operation last November and through a variety of information gathering techniques were able to successfully map out the group, headed by Abdullah, DOB: 11-22-81 of Elizabeth.
Dubbed Operation Red Zone, investigators raided several locations in April 2009 including an apartment on Chancellor Avenue in Newark that held “nothing but drugs, guns and the equipment necessary to cut and process cocaine,” said Romankow.
The group also used a house in Sayreville to stash the proceeds from the sales. A list of search warrant locations is attached to this release.
Authorities also seized an amount of marijuana, heroin and other items during the raids.
According to the investigation, the ring operated in Essex and Union Counties. A conservative estimate is that the group put at least two kilos of cocaine on the streets every week with a street value of $350,000 per kilo.
During those raids, authorities arrested 15 people, recovered more than three kilos of cocaine, $80,577 in cash and several guns including an AK-47 Assault Rifle, during a series of arrests.
On April 23, 2009, members of law enforcement attempted to arrest Luqman Abdullah in the parking lot of a mall in Edison, New Jersey. Abdullah a former Elizabeth high school track star and college football player, led the police on a foot-chase through the mall parking lot, across six-lanes of traffic and into a large apartment complex, where he disappeared in the night amidst the dozens of apartment buildings.
Abdullah, who remains at large, is charged with 1st degree Racketeering, and 2nd degree maintaining a narcotics production facility and numerous drug and weapon offenses.
He will be held on $5 million bail once arrested.
The Union County Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000
for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and indictment
of Luqman Abdullah. All calls are kept anonymous and confidential.
Crimestoppers may be reached at (908) 654-TIPS (8477)
The warrant for Abdullah’s arrest arose from an investigation by members of the Elizabeth Police Department, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities arrested twenty-one associates and co-conspirators and seized over $80,000.00 in drug proceeds, an AK-47 assault rifle stolen from North Carolina, three handguns and mass quantities of cocaine. Approximately seven pounds of cocaine—enough to fill over 30,000 vials for street level distribution—were seized from a stash house that Abdullah and his two closest lieutenants frequented in Newark, said Romankow.
This location, a sparsely-furnished studio apartment, was covered in a film of cocaine and contained all of the elements of a drug lab, included face masks, gloves, scales, and baking dishes. That is where the police also found the assault rifle and two of the handguns. In the kitchen garbage, authorities found sixty-nine kilogram wrappers, enough to package 690,000 vials or individual servings of cocaine.
Two of Abdullah’s co-conspirators in this case, twin brothers Naim and Hamid Holloway, were also Abdullahs’ co-defendants in the shooting of the rival drug-dealer in the trunk of his car. A fourth co-defendant was found shot to death on January 8, 2009. Members of the Elizabeth Police Department discovered his body in the driver’s seat of his car. Prior to his murder, he was Luqman Abdullah’s lieutenant in his drug-distribution operation.
Immediately after his April 23, 2009 escape, law enforcement officers pursued Abdullah to North Carolina, where he has family members and where he is believed to have traveled immediately after his escape. When no leads materialized there, it appeared that Abdullah returned to the Newark area, where various witnesses and informants reported seeing him, including sitting in the third row of the Hot 97 Summer Jam concert at Giants Stadium in June, attended by fifty-thousand people.
Abdullah’s past criminal history is an extensive one, with fifteen prior arrests and seven felony convictions for burglary, resisting arrest, obstruction, manufacturing/distribution of controlled dangerous substances, possession of an assault firearm and aggravated assault. He has also been previously charged with both kidnapping and attempted murder. His prior history of resisting arrest, possession of firearms, and his ability to escape the clutches of the arresting officers on April 23, 2009, make him a particularly difficult individual to arrest, said Romankow.
He is believed to be armed and highly-dangerous.
These criminal charges are mere accusations.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. |
