High Point is one of several communities in the region struggling to fight a growing heroin problem. On Friday, city police announced the results of an undercover investigation that led to charges against 24 people and 19 arrests.
Police became aware of how big the heroin problem is in High Point in May, when 32 overdoses and 3 deaths were reported in the same month. Soon after, officers from multiple agencies partnered to conduct an undercover sting operation to find out who was trafficking the drug. High Point Police Chief Marty Sumner says what they found was shocking.
“The heroin that is on the street today is extraordinarily deadly compared to just a few years ago. We seized a lot of heroin in this operation and analyzed some of it. One thing that is very concerning is that all of it contained fentanyl in various concentrations and even one sample was all fentanyl, which medical professionals tell us would be immediate death.”
Sumner says detectives seized a total of more than 400 grams of heroin with a street value of around $83,000. According to police, 60 percent of the people who overdosed this year do not have High Point addresses. Sumner says the rising use of heroin in his community is a burden on emergency personnel, hospitals and law enforcement agencies. He believes the problem is on the verge of an epidemic.
“It was interesting to me where the overdoses took place. It was all over the city in retail establishments, the bathrooms of restaurants and parking lots. Fortunately somebody sees them and calls 911, but that is very different that it is all over the city and in public places. Twenty years ago there was a house here or neighborhood there and it was done behind closed doors not in public at all.”
Overall, city officials say there have been 94 heroin overdose calls this year, with 11 deaths. On Monday, WFDD's Keri Brown will take a closer look at how the spread of the drug is impacting High Point.
Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news