GRAND RAPIDS. Mich. (WOOD) — A moped stuffed with several pounds of drugs was among contraband seized in a Comstock Park raid that now has a convicted felon facing another stint in prison.
Dealer-quantity amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine along with guns were seized during a series of raids on Sept. 11 targeting Joseph Ivy-Maze III, according to authorities and court records.
It’s not his first brush with the law. Ivy-Maze III, 41, was on federal probation for a drug bust in Kent County.
The Sept. 11 haul in Comstock Park included more than five pounds of methamphetamine, 1.7 pounds of fentanyl and at least 2.2 pounds of cocaine, court records show.
He has a hearing next week in 63rd District Court on four charges, including delivery/manufacture of more than 1,000 grams of cocaine. The crime is punishable by up to life in prison.
Ivy-Maze III is in the Kent County jail on a $1 million bond. A message left with his attorney on Friday was not returned.
His arrest is the second this month by Grand Rapids Police involving a kilogram or more of drugs. On Sept. 3, police seized nearly 2.4 pounds of cocaine from a house in Wyoming. The raid also netted nearly $1.2 million in cash.
“Over the past year, we seem to have been getting more of these cases with sizeable quantities being seized,” said Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker.
“And we see all different ways they’re trying to hide the drugs, be it in mopeds, food or other means,” Becker said. “It’s all in an effort to evade detection.”
Ivy-Maze III was nabbed after Grand Rapids police executed several search warrants that named him as a suspect. One of the searches took place at a home on 6 Mile Road NE west of Pine Island Drive in Plainfield Township.
Earlier surveillance at the home showed Ivy-Maze III accessing two mopeds and a Mercedes Benz “before narcotic transactions multiple times,” court records show.
When police showed up on Sept. 11, they were drawn to the vehicles.
“In one of the mopeds, 2,341.5 grams of methamphetamine, 793.2 grams of fentanyl and three semi-automatic pistols were located, along with digital scales,” a detective wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
“A kilogram of pressed cocaine (at least 1,000 grams) was located in the Mercedes Benz,” the detective wrote.
Ivy-Maze III, who lists a home address in Grand Rapids, was booked into the Kent County jail. A warrant was authorized two days later.
In addition to three drug charges, he is charged with firearms — possession by a prohibited person. The earlier cocaine conviction precluded him from having a firearm.
