Retired Detective and Correctional Officer Charged in Countywide Narcotics Bust

A retired police detective and a Hudson County Correctional Police Officer were among seven individuals arrested in a wide-ranging narcotics investigation led by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, officials announced.

Thomas Mannion, 60, a retired detective from the West New York Police Department, was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a second-degree crime. Marquis Santiago, 33, a current Hudson County Correctional Police Officer, was charged with conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance (cocaine), a third-degree crime.

The arrests followed early morning search operations on Thursday, July 17, at locations in North Bergen, West New York, and Union City. Prosecutor Esther Suarez reported that authorities seized more than four kilograms of suspected cocaine, two handguns, seven vehicles, over $70,000 in cash, and uncovered a narcotics production facility. The street value of the recovered drugs exceeds $150,000.

Mannion and Santiago were among three individuals with law enforcement affiliations charged in the case, which also included a dispatcher with the West New York Police Department.

The investigation, led by the Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force and Internal Affairs Unit, remains ongoing. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.