Hudson County Corrections Officer & 3 Others Charged In K2 Smuggling Operation
Sunday, October 19, 2025, 10:45 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher; Englebrook Independent News,
KEARNY, NJ.- Last Tuesday, following an investigation, a 33-year-old Hudson County Corrections Officer, and three others were taken into custody and charged in connection with allegedly participating in an alleged months-long smuggling operation which resulted in synthetic narcotic, also known as “K2,” being introduced into the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, New Jersey.
According to Acting Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Detectives of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internal Affairs Unit formally charged both Marquis Santiago, 33, a Correctional Police Officer, and Francisco Salcedo, 44, of Jersey City, New Jersey, an inmate at the Hudson County Correctional Facility, with three counts of third-degree Distribution of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, K2; third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, K2.
A second inmate, Israel Rosado, 38, of Newark, New Jersey, was formally charged with one count of third-degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, K2. Santiago was taken into custody on Tuesday at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was processed on the charges and released on a summons complaint pending his first appearance in Hudson County Central Judicial Processing Court.
Salcedo and Rosada were processed on their respective charges filed in summons complaints at the Hudson County Correctional Facility on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Additionally, Alvin DeLeon, 31, of Bayonne, New Jersey, was formally charged for his role in the conspiracy with one count of third-degree Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, K2. DeLeon was taken into custody on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was processed on the charge and released on a summons complaint pending his first appearance in Hudson County Central Judicial Processing Court.
Arrests And Charges Are A Result Of An Internal Drug Probe
The arrests and charges stem from an investigation that uncovered that on various dates and times, between January 8, 2025, and April 7, 2025, Santiago, while on duty at the Hudson County Correctional Facility, introduced a controlled dangerous substance into the facility and provided it to Salcedo, who then distributed it throughout the facility, including Rosado and Deleon, who the assisted in the distribution of the substance.
“The Hudson County Department of Corrections is committed to the core values of safety and rehabilitation,” said Hudson County Department of Corrections Director Becky Scott. “Our employees are held to a high standard in order to protect the integrity of this facility, and I thank the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internal Affairs Unit and the Hudson County Department of Corrections Internal Affairs Unit and Intelligence Bureau for their diligence in the investigation.
“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”
