SOMERVILLE, N.J. (Somerset County) — A Dunellen man has been arrested following a three-month narcotics investigation that led to the seizure of drugs, a stolen handgun, and ammunition, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald announced Friday.
Authorities said Pablo Hernandez-Garcia, 38, was taken into custody on Aug. 13 after investigators executed a Superior Court search warrant at his North Avenue residence in Dunellen. The operation involved the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police, and the Middlesex County Special Operations Response Team.
Investigators seized an FN Herstal handgun with a high-capacity magazine and hollow point ammunition, which officials said had been reported stolen in Louisiana in 2020. They also recovered about 723 grams of suspected heroin, 385 grams of suspected cocaine, and drug manufacturing and packaging materials. Prosecutors estimated the street value of the narcotics and firearm at $223,350.
Hernandez-Garcia was charged with multiple counts, including first-degree possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, and weapons offenses. He was lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
McDonald thanked law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, saying the collaboration “ensured that a significant amount of potentially deadly dangerous substances never made their way into our communities.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force at 908-575-3300 or through the STOPit app. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Somerset County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).
