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Sheriff: Officers Crash Paterson Heroin Deal, Seize Guns, Drugs

PATERSON, N.J. -- Passaic County sheriff's officers found two handguns, 200 bags of heroin, 20 bags of pot and more than $1,300 in alleged drug proceeds after watching a drug deal go down, authorities said Thursday.

Eli Hynes, Nicholas Koroly

Eli Hynes, Nicholas Koroly

Photo Credit: MUGSHOTS: Courtesy PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF

Members of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik's narcotics division were watching Wednesday night when a Toyota Tacoma driven by a Morris County man pulled to the curb on 22nd Avenue near East 32nd Street and remained there, idling.

Several minutes later, 29-year-old ex-con Eli Hynes came out of a house there, approached the driver's side and handed the driver two bricks of heroin in exchange for cash, Berdnik said.

Detectives followed and stopped the Tacoma, recovered the heroin and arrested the driver, Nicholas Koroly, 30, of Wharton, he said.

He was later released under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.

Remaining detectives followed Hynes and stopped a BMW he'd gotten into, Berdnik said. He was carrying $290 in alleged drug proceeds, the sheriff said.

They then returned to his home and found the two guns -- a .40-caliber Glock 23 semi-automatic handgun and a .44-caliber Smith & Wesson -- along with the heroin, pot and more than $1,000 in alleged drug cash.

Detectives seized the weapons and drugs and confiscated the cash for forfeiture proceedings.

A judge ordered Hynes held in the Passaic County Jail pending a detention hearing on various drug and weapons charges -- including being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

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