Fentanyl and Heroin Found In Counterfeit Pills Sold By A Pair In Ocean County, New Jersey

Click here to read about other counterfeit medicine incidents in the Garden State

Police arrested and charged two Ocean County, New Jersey residents for allegedly making and selling counterfeit oxycodone and Xanax pills in their home, according to Jersey Shore Online. The pills were laced with fentanyl and heroin. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated that indictments against H.J. Zaker Sinder and Mary Mazzi were the result of a multi-jurisdictional investigation into drug activity in the northern part of the county. Sindel has seven charges against him, and Mazzi has three charges against her.

Detectives with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, along with members of Brick and Berkeley Police Departments and the Ocean County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit executed search warrants on November 26, 2018 at both Sindel and Mazzi’s residences. Prosecutor Billhimer said, “During the execution of the search warrants, a second-degree quantity of suspected heroin/fentanyl, three handguns, and manufacturing equipment/paraphernalia were located and seized by Detectives.” Police arrested and charged the pair, and they were then transported to the Ocean County Jail pending their detention hearings.

In a press release announcing the arrests, Ocean County Prosecutor Billhimer warned that members of the public must only purchase prescription drugs from legitimate pharmacies because “The seized heroin/fentanyl-laced pills closely resemble that of the legitimate prescription pain medication oxycodone.” For information on other counterfeit medicine incidents in New Jersey, please read PSM’s 2018 New Jersey Infosheet.