Seven people have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged social media drug ring at Rutgers University, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey.
On Thursday, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said Operation RU Pharm, an extensive drug investigation, resulted in the arrests of seven people.
Ciccone said the investigation, which lasted several months, revealed that Rutgers students were using a closed private social media network to buy and sell drugs.
The sting operation found that a Rutgers alumnus created a private social media network “through which drug dealers could post drug menus and solicit buyers from within the Rutgers community.”
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An investigation into an alleged drug ring involving Rutgers University students has been underway for months. (Rutgers University)
Rutgers students who are connected to the school are allowed to join the network, browse a “menu” and contact distributors to negotiate drug purchases.
Investigators also seized quantities of marijuana, LSD, cocaine, psilocybin, Adderall, Xanax, a large amount of U.S. dollars and a gun.
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Anudeep Revuri, a 23-year-old former Rutgers University student, is accused of being a first-level leader of a drug trafficking network.
Joshua Duffy, 20, Zachary Petersen, 22, Catherine Tierney, 23, David Nudelman, 20 David Nudelman, Donovin Williams, 22, and Noa Lisimachio, 21, are all charged with at least one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
Ciccone said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force at 732-745-3300.
Operation RU Pharm resulted in seven arrests. (Rutgers University Police Department)
In 2020, fraternity members and students at the University of North Carolina and Duke University were arrested for transporting drugs to three college campuses, and another major drug ring involving college campuses was busted.
Federal law enforcement officials recently filed charges against 21 people involved in the scheme after an investigation began in November 2018.
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Investigators said they seized a large amount of drugs. (Google)
According to court documents, the illegal drug activity involved members of Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Sigma and Beta Theta Pi fraternities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between 2017 and the spring of 2020.
Prosecutors say the drug ring shipped more than half a ton of marijuana, hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and large quantities of other drugs to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and Appalachian State University.
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Prosecutors said the total amount earned through the trafficking scheme exceeded $1.5 million.
Rutgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a contributor to Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
