Heroin Use Increasing In Central Ohio, Agents Say
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 3:55 PM
Updated: Tuesday, June 9, 2009 6:49 PM
"We're seeing young people in Dublin, Westerville, (Upper Arlington), Grove City, Newark," said Drug Enforcement Agency special agent Anthony Marotta.
Agents said that heroin use is increasing rapidly in central Ohio.
According to DEA statistics, in 2002, agents investigated a single case of heroin trafficking, made one arrest and confiscated a quarter of a kilogram of the drug.
In 2007, eight cases were prosecuted, 26 people were arrested and 12 kilograms of heroin were confiscated, Bell reported.
More startling, Marotta said, is the people using the drug.
"We're seeing 15, 16, 17 year olds coming from upper middle class houses being addicted to heroin," Marotta said.
Federal agents said heroin is gushing into the county from Mexico, and traffickers are bringing the drug into central Ohio.
"In central Ohio, what we're seeing is Mexican black tar heroin," Marotta said. "And we're seeing Columbian brown heroin.
"This is all coming up from the southwest border states. That's from El Paso, Texas all the way to Los Angeles."
Some traffickers are taking big chances when trying to sneak heroin into the country.
In March, agents arrested a man at Port Columbus International Airport after heroin was discovered in his shoes, Bell reported.
"(He had) approximately a kilo of heroin hidden in his shoes," Marotta said.
While authorities try to stem the flow of drugs into the country, those who were addicted to heroin find themselves struggling to maintain normal lives.
Paul Coleman, president of Maryhaven, said he is seeing more and more teenage heroin addicts at his east side rehabilitation center.
"There's a lot of heroin in the community and it's being sold aggressively, Coleman said.
Coleman said he has seen addicts as young as 15 come through Maryhaven's doors. One woman seeking treatment told 10TV News that her addiction instant.
"First time, it's over, usually," she said.
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