Pubdate: Tue, 03 Apr 2007
Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA)
Copyright: 2007 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/460
Author: Richard Byrne
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our 
editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who 
have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise 
public figures or officials.

RARE TYPE OF HEROIN TARGETED IN MOON BUST

Eight Mexican illegal aliens arrested in Moon were members of a group 
responsible for smuggling and distributing black tar heroin in 
Allegheny and Beaver counties, according to arrest affidavits filed 
by the state Attorney General's Office.

Agents from the state Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug 
Control, working with local police, seized six ounces of the heroin 
and 485 balloons filled with the drug, containing an unknown amount. 
The drug would have sold for an estimated $50,000 on the street, 
authorities said. A balloon can contain a gram or more.

The March 23 arrests are part of a larger investigation into an 
organization whose members are active in Pittsburgh, Moon, Bellevue, 
Ambridge, Center, Monaca and Rochester, law-enforcement officials 
said. More arrests are anticipated.

"Mexican black tar heroin is a new phenomena that we haven't seen in 
Pennsylvania until very recently," said Kevin Harley, spokesman for 
state Attorney General Tom Corbett. "In the past, we've seen only 
traditional powdered heroin marketed in small 'stamp bag' packets."

Investigators seized $18,000 in cash, pagers and other evidence when 
they raided an apartment in the Thorn Run Apartment Complex on Lee 
Drive in Moon, an affidavit states. In the trash, agents found "owe 
sheets" and receipts indicating how drugs and money were transferred.

Agents identified [Name redacted], 25, no address given, as a top 
leader of the group, and [Name redacted], 25, as the man responsible 
for local day-to-day operations. They face charges of possession and 
unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, corruption and conspiracy.

Others arrested were [Name redacted], 28, [Name redacted], 25, [Name 
redacted], 20, [Name redacted], 21, [Name redacted], 22, and [Name 
redacted], 19. Most lived in the Moon apartment, investigators said.

Initially detained on immigration violations, they were charged 
Friday with the drug and conspiracy charges. The suspects are being 
held in the Allegheny County Jail for Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement officials. Court hearings have not been set.

Harley said authorities aren't certain how long the eight have been 
in the area. He said state investigators began looking into the 
alleged drug operation last year.

The investigation stretches into Columbus, Ohio. Agents relied on 
confidential informants, surveillance of suspects, court-ordered 
reviews of phone records and "trash pulls," the affidavits show.

"From my understanding, this group has totally circumvented the 
traditional heroin networks. It's a basic supply-and-demand issue. 
The AG's office has seen the danger and is moving rather aggressively 
to stop it before it gets out of hand," said Ambridge police Chief 
Mark Romutis, whose officers helped in the investigation.

The group's members relied on a U.S. citizen to legally buy and 
register a car, used pagers to communicate, and called buyers from 
blocked phone numbers to arrange sales, authorities said in the affidavit.

Black tar heroin is named because of its gummy, tar-like consistency 
and usually is packaged in rubber balloons. Like powdered heroin, the 
drug can be injected or smoked. It is prevalent in cities on the West 
Coast and border states such as Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

It is rarely seen on the East Coast, said Steven Robertson, a special 
agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The heroin is typically cheaper than powdered heroin produced in 
Colombia and Bolivia and smuggled, in large part, by distribution 
networks composed of the four-largest Mexican-based drug cartels: The 
Gulf, Juarez, Tijuana and "La Federacion" groups, Robertson said.

It isn't known whether the eight people arrested have ties to any of 
those cartels.

Heroin reaching the streets in Western Pennsylvania typically is 
Colombian-produced, powdered heroin supplied largely by loosely knit 
groups with ties to the Dominican Republic, said James Harper, 
assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration's Pittsburgh office. The Dominican groups work from 
New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Harper said.

"The black tar heroin is coming from Mexico. It is, in fact, being 
produced and shipped from Mexico," Harley said.

The smugglers often rely on illegal immigrants who are organizing 
themselves into small groups, containing a few individuals or as many 
as 10, Robertson said.

"With the Mexican cells, they can be as small as two to three guys 
working a street corner. ... These are self-contained networks," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman