DEADLY HEROIN WORRIES POLICE

Four Deaths Believed Tied To Potent Batch

A deadly batch of heroin is making the rounds in the Wilmington area,
but it could be as long as 10 days before authorities know whether
the drug has been cut with the powerful narcotic fentanyl or is
simply more potent.

Either way, the heroin is responsible for at least four fatal
overdoses in the past month in the city and surrounding counties,
said Capt. Bruce Hickman, commander of the Wilmington Police
Department's Vice and Narcotics Unit.

Local law enforcement agencies met this week with the New Hanover
County District Attorney's Office and will share information.
District Attorney Ben David said a task force will be formed "to
address the public health concerns that are raised by the lethal
doses of heroin in our community."

Police discovered the body of the latest suspected overdose victim
Wednesday afternoon inside a storage unit at Martin Self Storage, 110
S. Kerr Ave. Police said Thomas S. Carey, 35, was partially slumped
over a small table, close to heroin and drug paraphernalia. He passed
through the gate into the business at 4:47 p.m.

On June 8, the body of 22-year-old Robert L. Croom was found behind a
Dumpster in the Canterbury Woods Apartments complex off Canterwood
Drive. Two empty bags of heroin and a needle were found beside him.
Authorities said at least two other fatal heroin overdoses occurred
locally in recent weeks, including one in Pender County.

An autopsy performed Thursday on Carey at the N.C. Medical Examiner's
Office in Jacksonville supports the likelihood of a drug overdose.

"I didn't find anything wrong with him. Drug paraphernalia was found
by him, so I assume that's what it was," said Dr. Charles L. Garrett.
Toxicology results for Croom and Carey will take 60 to 90 days to
process, he added.

David said samples of the heroin found near the bodies of the two men
have been forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation lab in
Raleigh for expedited testing, a process that can take as long as 10 days.

"We are very interested to know the concentration of heroin and any
other mixtures that are in there," David said. "We perceive it as a
very dangerous situation, and there isn't a minute to lose."

Wilmington police are stepping up their investigation, Hickman said.

"We are contributing considerable amounts of resources, both in
man-hours and technology, trying to get an answer as fast as we can,"
he said. "My gut feeling is we've got some bad heroin laced with
fentanyl. It's giving them that extra bump, and they're not used to it."

Fentanyl is about 80 times more powerful than morphine and is
prescribed to treat chronic or severe pain. Mixed with heroin, the
painkiller is linked to at least 130 deaths in the Chicago and
Detroit areas and suspected in many overdoses in other cities.

"Historically, most of our heroin comes out of New York City. Maybe
this batch comes from somewhere other than New York, and they're not
used to it," Hickman said.

Emergency services responders are often first on the scene at
overdoses. Using the drug Narcan, which counteracts the effects of
heroin, EMS workers often can save the lives of overdose victims.

To date this month, New Hanover Regional EMS employees have responded
to 20 narcotics-related overdoses in the county, compared to 12
during the same period in 2005.

"What we're running into now is the potency of the product on the
street. That is the issue," said Chris Gilmore, a battalion chief
with New Hanover Regional EMS.

Users who inject the drugs have no idea what they're getting into,
Gilmore said. Both heroin and fentanyl inhibit the ability of a
person to breathe and have the potential to inflict serious brain
damage, even if someone who overdoses is revived.

"When someone goes out and buys heroin, it might not actually be
heroin, it could be fentanyl," Gilmore said.

"With the illicit origin to it, you're not going to get a consistent
batch from supplier A or supplier B. They're not going to follow FDA
regulations."

Garrett, whose experience as a pathologist covers 40 years, said
recent drug overdoses suggest at least one trend.

"It just indicates to me there are more people using heroin right now
than five years ago," he said.

New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey was in charge of the Sheriff's
Office Vice and Narcotics Unit for many years before moving into his
current job.

"We'd certainly like to warn the people," Causey said. "I suspect
it's got some other product in it and they can't handle it, but it
could be pure dope. Whatever's in it, it's fatal."

Anyone with information on the local heroin trade can contact the
Wilmington Police Department Vice and Narcotics Unit at 341-1603.