Police: Heroin becoming problem in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Police say heroin is taking over as the "drug of choice" locally, and police officials plan to use all their resources to prevent the drug from getting a foothold in Poplar Bluff.

"Fifteen to 20 years ago, I was among others telling people we've got a meth tidal wave coming our way, and no one wanted to listen; I'm telling you we've got another on the horizon with heroin," said Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley.

Officers know "for a fact you can't grow or make heroin in Poplar Bluff," Whiteley said. "They're bringing it in from outside sources" and selling a "button/unit" for double as compared to St. Louis, he said.

Whiteley said law enforcement is at the "same point with heroin in our area at this point in time that we were at the beginning stages of meth."

That is why, Whiteley said, officers want to make the public, particularly parents, aware heroin is an "up and coming problem. We are focusing our efforts to combat it (and) focusing our investigations before it becomes of epidemic proportions."

Heroin, according to detective Corey Mitchell, is statistically more addictive than any other drug.

"Try it one time, and you're hooked," Mitchell said.

A heroin high lasts about an hour, with its effects wearing off in three to five hours, depending on the dose, said detective Jason Morgan. Addicts, he said, typically use it two to three times a day.

"Our first known exposure to heroin was four to five years ago when we were following up on some burglaries on South B Street," Whiteley said.

The suspects, who were from the St. Louis area, were found to be in possession of heroin packaged for distribution, Morgan said.

"They had moved down here to get away from the heroin because they were addicts," Whiteley explained. "When they found there was no heroin here, they thought they found a niche in the market and were going to make a lot of money, but, at that time, we were in the middle of a prescription pill epidemic, a lot of which was centering around OxyContin."

Whiteley said the suspects told officers they couldn't make the heroin trade fruitful because of what they described as "hillbilly heroin."

Officers, Whiteley said, initially didn't know what the suspects were referring to until "they said the pills, OxyContin."

While at the house, Whiteley said, one of the suspects was experiencing withdrawals "as bad as I've ever seen -- diarrhea, throwing up, convulsions."

The other suspect, he said, told officers he had "just done a button of heroin," but would be experiencing the same symptoms in four to five hours.

"Once you start taking heroin and are addicted, you've got to have it every single day or you will go through severe withdrawals," said Morgan.

Officers, he said, recently have been told heroin users are illicitly purchasing the prescription drug suboxone, which is used to treat opiate dependency, or trading heroin for it to counteract their withdrawal symptoms.

Whiteley said officers have dealt with a "little bit" of heroin off and on since their initial encounter five years ago.

Morgan agreed, indicating officers went about two years without seeing much at all.

About three years ago, Morgan said, officers found a "few pills" and saw a few heroin-related overdoses.

"We made some buys and identified some sources then," Morgan said. "Now, it seems to be the drug of choice, more so than meth or crack.

"Crack dealers are selling more heroin than crack."

Mitchell attributed the change to heroin's cheaper price and the drug having "less exposure" to law enforcement.

The way heroin is sometimes packaged involves the contents of a capsule, such as Benadryl, being removed and replaced with the drug to fool law enforcement, Whiteley said.

Packaged that way, it could also fool unsuspecting children or adults, said Whiteley, who warned parents need to be aware of this possibility.

Given how officers are finding heroin being packaged, Morgan asked for retailers to report anyone making "large quantity purchases" of over-the-counter capsules, such as Benadryl, diet pills or bee sting remedies, in which the medicine can be removed and repackaged with heroin for sale on the street in a way to bypass law enforcement.

"Initial sources," Whiteley said, have reported heroin use increased locally because authorities have "cracked down" on the availability of prescription pills, such a OxyContin.

Awareness in the medical community has curtailed the prevalence of prescriptions being written, Morgan said.

"Heroin has filled the void," Morgan said. " … (It) is one of our top problems, and it has the potential of becoming more of a problem; prescription medications are right under that."

Some of the heroin has tested at 90 percent pure, Whiteley said.

"It was extremely pure … close to a fatal dose," Whiteley said. "Experts told us the body can't take pure heroin."

Purity levels for normal "bags on the street" is 1 to 10 percent, said Morgan.

According to Whiteley, dealers may sell users a higher purity of heroin initially to get them addicted, but then the "purity level goes way down so (the user) has to have a lot more."

The heroin, the officers said, is cut with other substances, such as baking soda.

Heroin, Whiteley said, knows no economic, social, gender or age barriers.

"When you start having heroin get a foothold in a community, there is a lot more violence associated with it than with any other (drug) we have dealt with," Whiteley said.

The violence, he said, could involve not only users and dealers, but also innocent bystanders.

"We're going to use our resources, and all the federal resources and (SEMO Drug) Task Force resources to stop it before it gets a foothold here," Whiteley said. " … We're in constant contact with the (Drug Enforcement Administration) and FBI for their assistance in investigations and prosecuting the dealers and their sources."

Morgan said officers already have identified some "major players" who are bringing heroin into Poplar Bluff.

"We know you're here; we know who some of you are, and we're going to be putting you in prison," Whiteley said.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO