What happened with the 3-day FBI raid in Lakewood?
LAKEWOOD, NJ – Two weeks ago the Federal Bureau of
Investigation spent three days investigating different businesses in Lakewood
and at some locations, agents were seen bringing boxes of medical equipment and
supplies to their waiting vehicles, but two weeks later, the FBI isn’t saying
what happened.
We’ve reached out to FBI field offices to get an
update. If it was nothing, then we feel
the people who were target of the now very public investigation should be
exonerated because their business names were plastered worldwide. If they were guilty and there was a crime
committed, there is the public need to know since the operation was such a huge
visual spectacle and speculations about the raid have run wild.
The FBI’s official stance is that they do not confirm nor
deny ongoing investigations, but when dozens of agents wearing FBI field
jackets show up in your town, it’s kind of difficult for the agency to deny
anything at all happened. To date, no
local law enforcement agency has divulged any information about the three day
long investigation that went as quickly as it came.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Governor Phil Murphy
acknowledged the ongoing investigation, prompting Murphy say of people who
hoard medical supplies, “There’s a special place in hell for those people.”
LAKEWOOD, NJ (APRIL 25, 2020) – Friday was the third day of
an ongoing FBI investigation in Lakewood Township related to medical equipment,
but officials are still not even confirming the existence of the action.
It started Wednesday when over one dozen agents showed up at
Lakewood Industrial Park warehouse.
WEDNESDAY
Agents showed up at a warehouse at approximately 4:30 pm
located at 1980 Swarthmore Avenue. The
warehouse of Deco-Tile was where the agents were entering and exiting, later
some were seen bringing out boxes of medical supplies. No visible arrests were made. We contact the FBI Newark office who declined
to comment about the case. When asked to
confirm an earlier report on the Lakewood Scoop to see if the investigation was
a case of mistaken identity, the agency seemed surprised by the question but
refused to answer, suggesting it was not.
THURSDAY
On Thursday, the FBI returned to Lakewood, this time at an
industrial park building located at 155 Oberlin in the morning hours. It was at this operation that it was learned
that the FBI was looking into large quantities of protective medical
masks. Agents loaded at least four box
trucks full of medical masks.
At Governor Murphy’s daily COVID-19 press conference,
Governor Phil Murphy acknowledged the FBI investigation in Lakewood.
“Because it looks like a law enforcement matter, we won’t
have much to say,” Governor Phil Murphy said regarding the two days of FBI and
Department of Justice raids against Lakewood businesses. “U.S. Attorney and FBI
are both involved and I’m sure our Attorney General will also be involved.”
FRIDAY
FBI agents were once again spotted in Lakewood, this time at
a residential home in the vicinity of New Hampshire Avenue and Oak Street to
investigate a report of a residential homeowner with a large supply of medical
equipment and masks in a garage.
To date, no visible arrests have been made and it appears
the investigation is ongoing. Neither
the Lakewood Police, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, New Jersey Attorney
General, or the FBI have publicly commented on the events transpiring in the
township as of yet.
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