TASK FORCE SEIZES HEROIN

Crack cocaine. Marijuana. Pills of every sort. Local authorities
routinely arrest people for peddling these kinds of drugs.

But Monday night, agents with the Lawrence County Drug and Major
Crimes Task Force encountered a drug they do not normally see offered
on the streets of Lawrence County: heroin. "The drug task force was
started in 1998. This is the first time we have purchased heroin in
Lawrence County," Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton said. "We have a
concern now. We have someone here who was trying to peddle this stuff."

[Name redacted], 31 of Russell, Ky., was arrested Monday night after
attempting to sell undercover drug enforcement agents black tar
heroin. Sexton said 14 doses of heroin were confiscated. Each dose
has a street value of $60. [Name redacted] was charged with
trafficking in drugs and possession of drugs and was taken to the
Lawrence County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in Lawrence County
Municipal Court in Chesapeake Friday to answer the charges against him.

According to information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance
extracted from the Asian poppy plant. It is highly addictive. While
the Lawrence County arrest may be unusual, Sexton said he is aware
the drug is present in other cities locally, such as Huntington, W.Va.

"We like to talk about this being Lawrence County, Ohio, but we are a
metropolitan area that includes Huntington and Ashland (Ky.). We all
share some of the same problems and some of the same drug
traffickers. And we often share intelligence with other agencies," he said.