Federal authorities seized 51 pounds of methamphetamine and 20 pounds of heroin in a bust Sunday in the Hamilton Marketplace shopping center in Mercer County after receiving a tip from a source about a large drug deal, authorities said.

Gabriel Acosta Villa, 29, of Lake Forest, California, and Oscar Perez Jr., 23, a commercial truck driver from Santa Ana, California, appeared in federal court on Monday on multiple drug and conspiracy charges. A judge ordered both men detained.

The arrests resulted from a Department of Homeland Security investigation that led to information from a source about the drug deal in the Mercer County area involving a commercial truck driver and an accomplice on Sunday, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Federal agents set up surveillance at the Hamilton Marketplace, a sprawling complex of big box retailers and chain restaurants less than 2 miles from the NJ Turnpike in Hamilton Township, authorities said.

Villa was seen walking through the parking lot of the McDonald's at the front of the complex just before midnight Sunday carrying two large bags, authorities said. He got into a minivan parked in the lot and the minivan then drove to another parking area in the complex for a hardware store, according to the complaint.

Authorities surrounded the vehicle and found 51.31 pounds of methamphetamine packaged in 1-pound amounts, officials said. Villa was arrested and a search of the area led authorities to Perez, who was walking alone in the nearby loading docks for the hardware store, authorities said.

Perez's tractor-trailer was idling at the loading docks and authorities found an additional 20 pounds of heroin in the truck's cab, authorities said.

The driver of the minivan involved in the alleged drug deal was not identified by authorities.

If convicted, Acosta and Perez face up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years. The State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation, authorities said.