FORT LEE POLICE SEIZE HALF-TON OF MARIJUANA, ARREST 3 SUSPECTS In what Fort Lee police called one of their largest seizures in recent memory, a 1,000-pound load of marijuana was seized and three men arrested at a local shopping center Thursday. Those arrested included Michael Coleman, 37, of Hackensack, who is accused of driving a tractor-trailer that toted the drugs. Coleman posed as a trucker, mixing a load of Mexican furniture with 16 cardboard boxes filled with marijuana, said Fort Lee police Lt. William Cullen. Police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents also arrested Norman Laing, 39, of Bay Shore, N.Y., and Devon McKenzie, 40, of Chicago. The U.S. Attorney's Office will prosecute the three on federal drug distribution charges, police said. "It's probably one of the largest [seizures] I've been involved in, if not the largest in my 20 years as a police officer," Cullen said. Working on a tip, authorities began watching the Peterbilt tractor-trailer around 11:30 a.m. at the Plaza West Shopping Center on Bergen Boulevard. Over two hours, Coleman made several calls from a cellular telephone, they said. About 2 p.m., police said, Laing and McKenzie pulled into the parking lot in a rented Chevrolet Blazer. When the three met at the back of the truck, a team of about 10 law enforcement officers moved in. "We were pretty much able to confront them and take them into custody without incident," Cullen said. Authorities found the marijuana in airtight, one- and two-pound packages, he said. The shipment could have fetched from $500,000 wholesale to up to $1 million retail. Based on gas station receipts, police believe Coleman may have picked up his shipment in Arizona. The truck was being subleased by Cross Island Trucking from a company owned by Laing, Massive Trucking of Bay Shore, N.Y. Authorities were still investigating each defendant's alleged level of involvement. All three were being held without bail pending arraignment in U.S. District Court in Newark.
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