Cliffside Park Man Sentenced For Possessing & Distributing Heroin

Monday, January 20, 2025, 9:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

NEWARK, NJ.- On Wednesday, a 37-year-old Bergen County, New Jersey, man will be spending the next six years in federal prison after being sentenced in connection with distributing large quantities of heroin and deadly fentanyl from a Hudson County apartment.

     On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Dawan A. Brown, also known as “DB,” 37, of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian R. Martinotti to 72 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to a federal narcotics offense.

     Brown previously appeared before Judge Martinotti and pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute 100 Grams or More of a Mixture and Substance Containing Heroin. As part of the plea agreement, Brown agreed to forfeit $436,615.95 in cash that were the proceeds from narcotics transactions that were seized during Brown’s arrest.

According To U.S. Attorney Khanna

     According to U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna and documents filed with the court, beginning in and around January 2022, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were investigating narcotics trafficking activities in New Jersey, including the Harrison, New Jersey area. During the investigation, Detectives and Investigators learned and identified Brown as a drug trafficker operating in the Northern New Jersey area.

     During the course of the investigation, law enforcement uncovered that Brown packaged and distributed large quantities of heroin from an apartment located in Harrison, New Jersey. 

     On June 14, 2022, investigators obtained and executed court-authorized search warrants at the Harrison, New Jersey, apartment and a Brown’s Cliffside Park, New Jersey residence.

     During the search of the Harrison apartment, investigators located and seized around two kilograms of narcotics that contained heroin and fentanyl, numerous items of drug paraphernalia, including digital scales, grinders, a ledger, glassine bags, stamps, strainers, vacuum bag sealer machine, and around $34,000 in U.S. currency in denominations consistent with narcotics transactions.

     During the search of Brown’s Cliffside Park residence, investigators found and seized $169,000 in U.S. currency, five cell phones, safety deposit box keys, and various pieces of high-end jewelry. During a subsequent search of the safety deposit boxes, investigators seized approximately $225,000 from drug proceeds.