PARAMUS — More than 300 people were arrested in an eight-week effort aimed at combating the surge of heroin abuse across northern New Jersey, authorities announced at a press conference Tuesday.

A task force of investigators from Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties targeted the “open air” heroin market in Paterson, leading to the arrest of 280 heroin users and 40 dealers, authorities said. In all, cops seized 11,794 bags of packaged heroin, 32 guns, 1,200 grams of raw heroin and about $25,000.

The street-value of the seized heroin was estimated at more than $350,000 and two heroin mills -- used for packaging the drug -- were taken down, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.

About 100 of those arrested were from Bergen, another 180 from Passaic and about 40 from Morris county, he said.

The accused represented a range of backgrounds, including a soldier wounded fighting in Afghanistan, a dental hygienist, a public works employee and a Philadelphia Phillies baseball prospect, the prosecutor told reporters. Many were from suburban communities around the area.

While touting the arrests, Molinelli also announced a new Bergen County effort to direct heroin abusers to a single court and treatment programs.

“We recognize that recovering from a heroin addiction is a fail, win, fail, win process,” he said. “We have to take a much different approach.”

Generally, low-level drug defendants have their cases downgraded to a municipal court and could see the charges dismissed if they avoid arrest for six months. In Molinelli's initiative, those charged would be handled by the specialized court, receive resources for battling addiction and possibly face dismissal after two or three years.

"The last thing we want is for most of these users to be saddled with a criminal conviction," he said.

It was the second such heroin sweep where authorities sought to publicize the names, hometowns, ages and photos of alleged buyers and distributors. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said that tactic would help further educate the public.

“We are working toward eliminating the notion that a heroin addict is a person that is in an alley with a needle sticking in their arm,” Valdes said. “We are so removed from that.”

About 80 to 90 percent of the suspected suburban heroin users caught in the latest sweep claimed they were robbed while trolling for the drug in Paterson, Molinelli said.

“The recipe for violence is present every day,” the Passaic County prosecutor said. “When people travel into Paterson in high-end cars looking for heroin that obviously don’t belong, the stage is set for violence.”

In Bergen County, 17 people died from heroin overdoses this year, officials said. This year's toll was on track to exceed 2013's record-setting 27 overdose deaths in the county.

Four Bergen residents were among the 20 people who died from overdoses in Passaic County, while seven overdose deaths were reported in Morris County, according to prosecutors.

Acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said 20 local officers from his county logged more than 3,000 hours of work with the task force.

“Drugs that are sold on the street in Paterson have come to Morris County and bring with them other crimes,” Knapp said.

Overall, some 50 law enforcement agencies contributed to the effort.