Drug charge based on 333 packets of heroin in woman’s bra

People who drive around with illegal drugs seem to eagerly invite the police to stop them for traffic violations of one kind or another. The incidence of drug busts coming on the heels of a traffic stop must be inordinately high. In the reported case, a New Jersey traffic stop resulted in a drug charge that netted 333 packets of heroin found inside a 54-year-old woman’s bra.

After pulling the woman over for erratic driving in Rockaway Township, police say that two passengers got out of the car and apparently revealed a wax fold that is used to hold heroin. While questioning the driver, she admitted to storing drugs on her person. Police searched her and found the 333 packets. She had no driver’s license, and the car was impounded.

Police charged her with drug possession and possession with intent to distribute. The arrest came on the heels of the arrest of at least 26 people across the state who participated in a purported heroin crime ring that was peddling large amounts of the drug around the state. That arrest was directed by the New Brunswick police department and other officials. The incident brings up a few common issues that may give the accused a drug crime defense.

In New Jersey, a traffic stop may not be parlayed into a search of the vehicle or the occupants without reasonable suspicion of a drug or other serious crime. A drug charge will not be justified without justification for a search and even for a formal drug interrogation. Here, the police say they observed a wax fold as two occupants got out of the car, but it’s not clear how that incriminated the woman or justified the police interrogation of her. The woman did apparently confess, but the circumstances that led up to it appear suspect. The full picture will have to wait for the police report and statements by the occupants in order to determine if police procedure was proper.

Source: Epoch Times, “333 Heroin Packets in Bra: NJ Woman Arrested,” Alex Johnston, April 25, 2013