Teen Found with $10,000 in Narcotics at Wyckoff Elementary School, Police Say

A Wyckoff teenager is facing drug charges after police allegedly found him in possession of $10,000 worth of prescription painkillers on elementary school grounds last week, Chief Benjamin Fox said.

During a patrol around 8:45 p.m. July 21, Officer Kyle Ferreira noticed two juveniles engaging in “somewhat suspicious” behavior on the field at Sicomac Elementary School, according to police.

Ferreira watched them from a distance, and after making an apparent hand-to-hand exchange the boys split in opposite directions, police said. The officer approached one, a 16-year-old Wyckoff resident, and in a subsequent search allegedly found 315 oxycodone pills in his possession.

The dosage of the pills varied between five and 80 milligrams, police said, and had a combined street value of around $10,000.

The teen, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was arrested and charged with possession of controlled dangerous substances and possession on school property. He was released to a parent pending a hearing in juvenile court.

The arrest, Fox noted, follows a county-wide effort spearheaded by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office to crack down on heroin and narcotics sales in response to a spike in drug-related deaths last year. One Wyckoff resident was among the nearly 90 alleged heroin buyers arrested in a four-month probe by the prosecutor’s office earlier this year.

According to DEA fact sheets, oxycodone and heroin have similar effects. Abuse of the prescription pill is often viewed as a gateway to the latter drug.

“Addiction to this drug is at an all time high, and addicts will stop at nothing to get what they need,” Fox said. “The fact that a 16 year old boy is in possession of such a high quantity of the drug further demonstrates the market there is to obtain these pills. Parents need to be very concerned if they suspect that their children may be taking or selling these narcotics.”