Police: Burglar Had 30 Bags of Heroin Up His Butt

A Glen Rock man booked on burglary and drug charges in Fair Lawn had a surprise for prison officers who searched him later at the county jail, police said.

Corrections officers found an additional 30 bags of heroin hidden inside the man's anus during inmate processing, arresting officer Timothy O'Shaughnessy said.

Justin Alvarez, 27, who already faced charges of burglary, theft and heroin possession for allegedly snatching a wallet from a truck parked outside Rivara's, had a charge of possession with the intent to distribute tacked on after the discovery.

Alvarez was picked up Saturday after Detective O'Shaughnessy, who was working a plainclothes detail, observed him suspiciously circling the area near Rivara's on bike while the restaurant's owner worked on his truck in the parking lot, Sgt. Richard Schultz said.

After the restaurant's owner stepped away from his truck and went back inside, Alvarez approached the truck and reached through an open window to grab the owner's wallet that had been left behind, Schultz said.

O'Shaughnessy, who had called for backup in the mean time, arrested Alvarez before he could escape and took him into custody without incident, Schultz said.  

Schultz said that in addition to the wallet, Alvarez was also carrying a small bag of heroin. Prison officers found the additional 30 baggies of heroin after he was remanded to Bergen County Jail and underwent a strip search. Schultz said Fair Lawn officers did not find the hidden drugs because the department's rules and regulations do not call for that level of search.

Alvarez remains in jail on $35,000 bond. He's set to appear in municipal court on Wednesday.

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