October 5, 2018, East Orange, NJ: Following leads in an ongoing public safety investigation into illegal drug distribution, East Orange’s newly-re-established Violent Crimes Task Force arrested four East Orange residents and seized four loaded handguns after executing a search warrants at 103 North 16^th Street and 21 North 18^th Street earlier this week, officials said.

The search warrants were executed on October 2, 2018 and the following persons were arrested: Marc Deane, 46, of North 16^th Street and Absul Q. Muhammad, 28, Tahir R. Muhammad, 20,  and Chantelle Campbell, 27, all of North 18^th.

Recovered from North 16^th Street were two loaded guns, ammunition, 45 grams of weed and cash. Recovered from North 18^th Street were two loaded guns, ammunition, 26 vials of cocaine, cash and one police radio scanner. The suspects were charged with various offenses ranging from unlawful possession of a handgun, possession and distribution of cocaine to possession of a firearm while committing a CDS offense and receiving stolen property.

In an unrelated investigation, Tyree Robinson, 26, of Montclair, also was arrested and charged with possession of a handgun at 67 So. Munn Ave.

Under the leadership of Public Safety Liaison José Cordero and Police Chief Phyllis Bindi, the Violent Crimes Task Force was re-established to aggressively target “hot spots” and to address issues of community concern. The task force had been disbanded since April 2016, but was re-deployed this past August. Compared to this time last year, overall crime is down 19% and violent crime is down 25.4%, and officials are hoping this trend continues.

“We have new officers on the streets, more are on the way and we are sending a strong message that we will do everything we can to keep our community safe,” said Mayor Ted R. Green. “We are committed to taking every measure to ensure that all of our citizens are safe.”

The investigations are active and ongoing. Individuals with information relevant to this or any other crime are urged to contact the East Orange Police Department’s 24/7 Confidential Tips Line at (973) 266-5041.

###