DRUG RAIDS EXPECTED TO REDUCE TRAFFICKING

Drug Raids Stem From Probe Of Overdose

In Harrisburg's Hall Manor housing project, dealers were using code words
and cryptic hand symbols to direct junkies to the different brands of
heroin for sale.

That heroin flowed to the city from New York and New Jersey by train or car
- -- sometimes hidden inside children's stuffed animals.

Hall Manor had become a local hotbed for heroin. Its reputation spread to
rural Mifflin County and suburban Derry Twp. In Derry Twp., a 15-year-old
survived an overdose on the drug.

Law enforcement agencies agreed something had to be done.

An operation spanning eight months led to highly coordinated raids Thursday
and indictments of 29 people on federal charges accusing them of
trafficking heroin.

Eight more people are accused of allowing their Hall Manor apartments to be
used in drug trafficking, an offense that could carry the same punishment
faced by the suspects they are accused of harboring: up to 20 years in
federal prison.

Federal marshals are seeking two indicted fugitives, Juan Abreu, 46, and
Jorge Reyes, 27, U.S. Marshal Michael Regan said.

Another 16 people were arrested on state charges in what police called
collateral arrests. Searches yielded up to $20,000 cash and $1,500 in drugs.

"It's anticipated that this major enforcement operation will significantly
reduce the flow of heroin and other illegal drugs into the Hall Manor
housing project," said Richard Ford, a federal Drug Enforcement Agency
assistant special agent in charge.

"We realized early on that this was not just a Harrisburg problem or a Hall
Manor problem," said Michael Consiglio, a Dauphin County prosecutor.

Authorities called the probe a collaborative one that relied upon myriad
agencies, among them federal housing agents and undercover vice cops, to
pull the case together.

Thomas A. Marino, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania, said dealers should take the increasing federal scrutiny as a
warning to get out of town.

"Look over your shoulder no matter what you do, and sleep with one eye
open," he said. "These charges underscore a simple truth. Public housing
will not be used as a site for drug trafficking."

Consiglio said strong undercover work, especially by city police, produced
tip after tip that showed how widespread the heroin dealing had become in
Hall Manor.

Historically, the neighborhood surrounding 13th and Derry streets was the
most common source of heroin in Harrisburg, but the recent investigation
revealed the shift to Hall Manor, Consiglio said. Tips such as the use of
stuffed animals in smuggling were corroborated as the probe snowballed, he
said.

"Our efforts today are an important first step in winning back Hall Manor
for law-abiding men and women who live in that community," Marino said.

Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed called the involvement of federal
authorities heartening because the potential penalties often are far more
severe than state sentences. "They don't play," Reed said.