Police: Heroin, Marijuana Found Inside Car on I-78

Two residents from Queens, N.Y., face varying charges after township police said the vehicle was pulled over early Tuesday morning for a supposed unsafe lane change, and a police search allegedly yielded 300 individual wax folds containing heroin.

Township police said Tomas Beltre, 21, from Corona, N.Y., is charged with third degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, and also possession of less than fifty grams of marijuana, a disorderly person offense.

Sarah Taveras, 20, also from the Corona section of Queens, was issued motor vehicle summonses for unsafe lane change and for unsafe tires and then released, according to the township police report.

Beltre was lodged in Somerset County Jail, police said Wednesday.

The police report on the arrest said that at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Township Patrol Officer William Seiple conducted a motor vehicle stop on a 2008 Ford Edge Wagon on Route 78 because he felt the vehicle had made an unsafe lane change.

As Seiple approached the driver, Sarah Taveras, and requested to see her driving credentials, he allegedly detected the odor of raw marijuana coming from within as Taveras searched for her credentials inside the car.

The police report said Seiple asked Taveras for consent to search the vehicle after she provided him with her credentials.

Police said Taveras allegedly provided consent to the officer for the search. That allowed Seiple to search the vehicle, during which he allegedly located a quantity of heroin hidden behind the glove box on the front seat passenger side of the vehicle.

Township police report it was later determined that more than 300 individual wax folds containing heroin allegedly were recovered from behind the glove box in the vehicle. Police said Taveras and the front seat passenger, Tomas Beltre, were taken into custody. Beltre also was found less than 50 grams of marijuana after he was taken into custody, according to the township police report.

Beltre was charged with the possession charges following further investigation, the police report said.