A worker with Jersey City's health department was led out of City Hall in handcuffs on Tuesday after he was indicted in New York as part of an alleged drug distribution and money laundering scheme operating in three states.

Jose Martinez, 40, was charged with conspiracy after an eight-month investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA says in a press release issued today. The agency says it seized multiple kilograms of cocaine and marijuana and about $270,000 in cash.

The other five people charged in the scheme were arrested March 6 and they are charged with various drug offenses, conspiracy and money laundering, according to the DEA.

The DEA accuses Martinez of being the cocaine supplier for one of the men, Gerardo Gonzalez, who the agency says operated out of a Columbus Avenue apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Martinez is scheduled to appear before a Hudson County Superior Court judge tomorrow.

The city's health department does not have an office at City Hall. Sources with knowledge of Tuesday's arrest told The Jersey Journal Martinez came to the Grove Street municipal building thinking he was there for a meeting. Instead, two Hudson County sheriff's detectives were waiting to arrest him.

Asked to comment, city spokeswoman Hannah Peterson said Martinez's arrest had nothing to do with his work for the city.

Peterson said Martinez, who first landed on the city's payroll in 2004, has been suspended without pay. His salary is $46,500.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.