TRENTON — The New Jersey State Police said Thursday they were investigating the circumstances surrounding two photographs that apparently show troopers — including one waving a Puerto Rican flag — celebrating amid a haul of drugs and weapons after a 2009 bust in Camden.

The inquiry comes after several prominent Latino leaders in New Jersey raised concerns that the photographs, obtained by The Star-Ledger, were disrespectful and unprofessional, especially since the State Police are trying to attract more Hispanics to the force.

"When you have a photo like this with these officers showing the Puerto Rican flag it, to me, is disturbing, discriminatory and very, very disrespectful," said Angel Cordero, a member of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey and an ally of Gov. Chris Christie.

A State Police spokesman, Lt. Stephen Jones, said in a statement the photographs "appear to depict contraband seized during a 2009 narcotics trafficking and illegal weapons investigation."

The troopers in the photographs have not been identified.

"The images have been referred to the Office of Professional Standards to determine the facts and circumstances concerning their content," Jones said. "The New Jersey State Police is sensitive to concerns of the communities we serve and regrets any offense caused by the images."

Cordero said he first saw the photographs Saturday and complained to the governor’s office.

A spokesman for Christie, Michael Drewniak, confirmed Cordero reached out about the photographs and said the governor is awaiting the results of the State Police inquiry.

"We don’t see this as reflecting poorly on the entire State Police organization," Drewniak said.

Martin Perez, president of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said that he spoke with State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes on Wednesday and was assured there would be a thorough investigation and that the public would be informed of the results.

Perez also said he was working to set up a meeting with Fuentes to discuss the photographs.

"It could be one of the police officers is Puerto Rican and he was proud of doing a good job," Perez said. "That’s different than if it’s a group of white police officers that raided a Latino house and now they’re trying to say all Puerto Ricans are drug pushers or drug sellers."

Jones declined to say if Fuentes planned to meet with Latino leaders.

Christian Estevez, vice president of the Latino Action Network, said the State Police must determine what the officers were trying to say by raising the flag.

"Given these are state troopers, and given the past history of racial profiling with the state troopers, any incident of this nature raises concerns statewide for Latinos," Estevez said.

The photographs are not the first ones to cause a stir in Camden. In 1996, Gov. Christie Whitman was photographed smiling as she frisked a black man after ordering more troopers to help Camden police. The images were leaked to the media four years later, and the ensuing outrage was said to have help stymie Whitman’s political aspirations.