I35 PIPELINE FUELS HEROIN'S RETURN TO TEXAS STREETS

By Brian Anderson, TribuneHerald staff writer

An old drug is making a new comeback on the streets of Texas, pushing up
profits for dealers and leaving a trail of death in its wake.

Heroin has reemerged as an alternative to cocaine, the drug that has all
but dominated the narcotics trade for years.

"The people dealing cocaine have discovered they can make as much money or
more selling heroin," said Cal Luedke, commander of the Agriplex Drug Task
Force, an interagency group of law officers that targets narcotics
activity in a sixcounty Central Texas area.

Luedke said heroin trafficking is on the increase in Texas with Interstate
35 serving as a major pipeline for drug shipments originating in Columbia
and entering the United States through Mexico.

Officials said Central and South American drug cartels have overrun the
heroin trade, a market once dominated by Asian suppliers.

"The border has opened up. What's not stopping here is going straight
north to Chicago and the Midwest," Luedke said.

Three years ago, heroin first began its comeback in the Northeast, flooding
the illegal markets in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Newark, N.J.

Overdoses Return

The heroin shipments, much purer than those of previous years, sparked a
rash of drugrelated deaths in the Northeast, officials said. The heroin,
sometimes as much as 97 percent pure, was simply too potent for many drug
users to tolerate.

The deadly trend found its way to Texas this year, where at least 12 deaths
in the Dallas suburb of Plano have been attributed to heroin overdoses.
The victms, mostly teenagers, died after inhaling the drug, a practice
youngsters are convinced is safer than using a needle.

Four men were arrested Sunday for allegedly supplying the Plano area with
the dangerously pure heroin.

'75 Percent Pure'

"The significant aspect of these arrests is the fact that these individuals
were distributing at the street level 75 percent pure heroin," said Michael
S. Vigil, assistant special agent in charge for the Dallas division of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "Normally, street level heroin is
between 3 (percent) and 7 percent pure. So what was taking place is that
you had kids that were using this heroin at this purity level. They had no
tolerance to it and this translated into a very hideous death, namely
respiratory asphyxiation."

Though several drug treatment centers in Waco have reported increases in
the number of patients seeking care for heroin addiction, Luedke said the
local heroin situation has yet to reach drastic proportions.

Keeping A Close Watch

"I don't know of any overdoses here where we have had deaths, but it's
definetly on the increase," Luedke said. "It's not an epidemic yet, but
it's something we have to look at real close. It's scary."

Gerald Elliott, program manager for Waco's Freeman Center, estimated that
the number of heroin addicts seeking treatment at his facility has grown 10
to 15 percent over the past year.

Changing The Fix

"Part of that is that (intravenous) drug usage isn't what it used to be,"
Elliott said, noting that the threat of spreading bloodborne diseases,
such as AIDS, has prompted many drug users to find alternative ways for
getting their fix.

Officials said the purer form of heroin has gained popularity because users
need less of it to get high and they can inject it.

"The only difference now is they are snorting it like cocaine. Previously,
they shot it put it in their arms. The times have changed for that.
Everyone is worried about the needles," Luedke said.

Drug Cocktail

Elliot said many addicts are using heroin in combination with other drugs.
Many people are using cocaine and heroin together, while others are smoking
the heroin with marijuana.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.