Wednesday, October 21, 1998BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Police have confiscated drugs with a street value of up to $2.6 million in nine drug busts in Cincinnati since Sept. 29.
"We've just had an unusual amount of large drug confiscations," police spokesman Lt. Roger Wolf said.
The largest was a seizure in Roselawn of up to $2 million worth of pure heroin. But individual arrests have spanned city neighborhoods from East Westwood to Madisonville.
"We've had people here 30 years, and none of us can remember a local-level seizure this big," Sgt. Jeff Butler, in the police Street Corner Unit, said of the heroin bust.
Typical big heroin seizures in Cincinnati recently have been measured in grams of heroin, not pounds, he said. But the area is seeing a resurgence in heroin use, he said.
Police announced the results Tuesday of that drug bust and other recent investigations that have involved the FBI, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, Arizona State Police, the Air National Guard and U.S. postal inspectors.
Police say the arrests of 11 people have curtailed availability of drugs locally.
Charges against those suspects are still being compiled because some face federal as well as state prosecution. Police did not name those arrested because they are expected to provide information for other investigations.
The busts took place in:
- Northside: 241 grams of crack cocaine, worth $33,824, seized Sept. 29 in the 4700 block of Hamilton Avenue.
- Fairview: 351 grams of powder cocaine, worth $49,140, confiscated Sept. 30 in the 2500 block of Flora Street.
- Hartwell: 12 pounds of marijuana, worth about $36,000, seized Sept. 30 in the 8300 block of Burns Avenue.
- Kennedy Heights: three-fourths of a pound of marijuana, worth $6,000, confiscated Oct. 2 in the 5400 block of Glengate Lane.
- Roselawn: 1 1/2 pounds of pure heroin, worth $1.5 to $2 million, seized Oct. 5 in the 7100 block of Eastlawn Avenue.
- South Fairmount: 231 grams of crack cocaine, worth about $32,382, seized Oct. 9 from the 1500 block of Harrison Avenue.
- University Heights: 123 pounds of marijuana, worth $369,000, seized Oct. 9 from the 3000 block of West McMicken Avenue.
- East Westwood: 23 pounds of marijuana, worth $69,000, confiscated Oct. 14 from the 2300 block of Iroll Avenue.
- Madisonville: 111 grams of powder cocaine and 4.7 pounds of marijuana, worth about $29,100, seized Oct. 15 from the 4800 block of Stewart Avenue.
