POTENT HEROIN HITS ABBY STREETS

Heroin addicts in Abbotsford are frightened for their lives after
seeing several of their own almost die.

The users are apparently so scared thay they have spoken directly with
police about the problem.

During the past few days, Abbotsford drug squad members have had
direct conversations with users about heroin with a potentially deadly
level of purity being pushed into the city's downtown core, where the
bulk of addicts congregate to score and shoot up.

Const. Ian MacDonald with the Abbotsford Police Department said
hardened junkies had serious enough reactions to the spiked drug that
users shooting up with those affected thought they had died. Slipping
lethal doses of heroin into an established drug venue could herald a
new dealer looking to expand territory, said MacDonald.

"It's indicative of drug marketing - I don't know how else to say it.
Heroin is addictive as it is, but part of a marketing strategy a drug
dealer might use is to have a stronger product to lure or hook users."

MacDonald said this type of information usually filters down to police
from EHA (ambulance) responders or the hospital concerning an
increased number of transports of drug-related incidents.

"Either someone is trying to create new customers, or steal new
customers," he said. "[This heroin] potentially could cause permanent
[physical] damage or death," he said.

Concern for this segment of the population is the sole motivator for
getting this information out, said MacDonald.

"We know the drug dealers are not going to be sending that message
out!"

MacDonald said the fact that heroin users and addicts had approached
police about the problem - something he described as
"uncharacteristic" - punctuated just how serious the situation was. He
felt obligated to get the word out immediately in an effort to save
lives.

"At the end of the day these are people in our community."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Abbotsford Police Drug
Enforcement Unit at 604-859-5225.