Passaic County Archives - MICHAEL O. ALLEN

HEROIN PROBE RESULTS IN 38 ARRESTS; Most Suspects are From Bergen or Passaic

By michael o. allenHomepage, The RecordNo Comments

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 15, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B01

A state police task force investigating heroin trafficking in North Jersey has arrested 38 people, most of them from Bergen and Passaic counties, and seized more than $600,000 worth of uncut heroin.

Law enforcement authorities used undercover drug purchases and surveillance to penetrate a ring of traffickers stretching from North Jersey through New York City to Yugoslavia, state Attorney General Robert Del Tufo said Tuesday.

Dubbed “Operation Big Apple” because the drugs came into the country through Kennedy International Airport, the investigation began a year ago and started bearing fruit with the Feb. 7 arrest of Nicholas Lore, also known as Aniello Moschillo. The Hasbrouck Heights resident was charged with cocaine possession.

Lore is suspected of being one of the network’s linchpins, authorities said.

Police seized five ounces of cocaine and $11,000 in that arrest.

The case broke open March 20 when agents executing search warrants at Xhemil Zhuta’s Elmwood Park residence seized 2 kilograms of heroin, a .38-caliber pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets, and about $2,000, officials said.

Arrested with Zhuta, the alleged leader of the network, were his wife, Qibaret, son, Mendi, and daughter, Teuta.

Arrested at other North Jersey locations that day were Saban Adili, 41, of Dallas; Esref Ismaili, 40, of Fairfield, Conn.; Esat Sulesjmanoski, 41, of Lincoln Park; and Bajram Ibrahimi, 56, of Paterson, who allegedly is the courier who brought the heroin from Yugoslavia to the United States.

Further arrests occurred later in March and in early April.

In all, 38 people were charged, including 32 from Bergen and Passaic counties.

Authorities said the Cambridge Club Tavern in Garfield was the principal distribution point of heroin and cocaine in the Garfield-Lodi area.

Zimbret Mahmudi, a 28-year-old Garfield resident who authorities say is the owner of the club, was among those arrested.

He is being held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The elder Zhuta and his wife were being held in the jail in lieu of $500,000 and $250,000 bail, respectively.

The investigation is continuing and authorities expect to make more arrests, said Col. Justin J. Dintino, state police superintendent.

April 15, 1992

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POLICE HELD AT BAY IN BOMB THREAT

By michael o. allenHomepage, The RecordNo Comments

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, October 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A man, at first thought to have explosives, held Hawthorne and Passaic County sheriff’s officers at bay for several hours Saturday and caused the evacuation of his neighborhood before surrendering without incident, authorities said.

Steven E. Kuiken, 25, of 38 Pasadena Place was being treated for cuts to his hands sustained when he punched out windows in the house, police said.

He was then to be transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Paterson for psychiatric evaluation, authorities said.

“His mood changed several times during the negotiations,” Hawthorne police Capt. David A. Noble said.

Police said he was drinking beer and tequila during the day.

Noble said that Kuiken had been charged on Sept. 3 with burglary and theft in a break-in Aug. 23 at a home on Emmaline Drive. He did not show up for the preliminary court hearing, Noble said. His bail was revoked and a warrant issued for his arrest.

“And what happened today was one of our officers that knows him by sight observed him in the area of his home. He fled on seeing the officer and was observed going into his home. The officer called for assistance,” Noble said.

About 3:30 p.m., two officers from the Sheriff’s Department warrant squad responded and police entered Kuiken’s home, where he was barricaded in a second-floor bedroom.

“He instructed the officers to leave, that he had explosive devices in the house,” Noble said. The officers backed away, “per policy,” he said.

What followed was about five hours of negotiations, conducted by the Sheriff’s Department negotiations team. The bomb squad also was at the scene.
Four houses on Pasadena Place were evacuated and other area roads were blocked off.

“He was finally convinced to give himself up, and did so without any struggle,” about 9:35 p.m., Noble said.

Kuiken had 20-pound propane tanks in the house and two electronic remote control devices, Noble said. He also had a part from an electronic toy taped to a tank, he said.

“It in fact resembled a bomb, and on several occasions we could see it. It certainly caused us to exercise caution,” Noble said. About 7:30 p.m., Kuiken threw an ignited tank onto the lawn, but it burned itself out, Noble said.

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – STEVE HOCKSTEIN / THE RECORD – Police removing items from the house in Hawthorne where Steven E. Kuiken barricaded himself on Saturday.

Notes: Late run

October 27, 1991

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