Police recently apprehended an Edgewater NJ man who reportedly led an organized crime operation behind a massive theft of chocolate.

The main suspect in the criminal case is a 40-year-old Edgewater man. According to federal prosecutors, the suspect was one of the leaders of Shulaya Enterprise, a crime ring with ties to Russia. The criminal enterprise was allegedly responsible for numerous illegal acts in New Jersey and New York.

The suspect is among 33 defendants who have been charged with crimes that include racketeering, fraud, extortion, theft, illegal drug distribution, and unlawful possession of a weapon.

One of the theft offenses reportedly committed by the suspect’s criminal enterprise involved the heist of cargo shipment containers filled with more than 10,000 pounds of chocolate.

The suspects also allegedly committed other criminal acts like fraudulent rigging of slot machines at Atlantic City casinos, the unlawful sale of untaxed cigarettes in NJ and NY, bribes of local police officers, and running an illegal poker room in Brooklyn.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the investigation into the allegedly criminal enterprise and eventually arrested the suspects.

For additional information about this case, view the NJ.com article, “Big Chocolate Heist Lands N.J. Mob Boss Behind Bars, Feds Say.”