The U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont announced on Tuesday that 16 people are facing drug trafficking charges following a three-day, multi-agency operation in the Brattleboro area.
Federal, state and local law enforcement agents seized approximately 1,000 bags of heroin and 70 grams of cocaine base from Wednesday through Friday of last week. The 16 people arrested or charged are from Brattleboro, VT, Holyoke, MA, Queens, NY and Hartford, CT.
U.S. Attorney for Vermont Christina Nolan says 14 individuals face federal charges related to trafficking of heroin and crack/cocaine and two face state charges. She says the coordinated effort shows how well and closely law enforcement works to combat the drug crisis. “There were 110 overdose deaths in Vermont last year. That is an intolerable number. Those who sell deadly drugs for profit have blood on their hands and they have unimaginable suffering on their hands. We are coming after those who prey on the lives of Vermonters by peddling poison and profiting from addiction.”
Nolan says the collaborative effort extends beyond Vermont because it is a problem that crosses state borders. She pointed to out-of-state dealers, especially those from the Springfield, Massachusetts region. “We are working more closely than ever before with our counterparts our law enforcement counterparts in Massachusetts. So your crime knows no borders, our collaboration knows no borders. We are also keenly aware that some Springfield, Massachusetts dealers have their Vermont customers come down to Massachusetts to buy drugs from them in Massachusetts. This strategy will not insulate them from prosecution. They are still going to find themselves in Massachusetts or Vermont courtrooms.”
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Anderson echoed and emphasized that while treatment is a strategy to eliminate the opioid crisis, dealers must face consequences. “We have treatment on demand in this state virtually across the state at this point. So the excuse that you can’t get into treatment and that I’m simply selling drugs to support my habit rings hollow. And the message that we want to send is an uncompromising one. You stop selling this drug whether you’re addicted to it or not. You get into treatment or you get arrested. Whether you are the top level dealer that’s doing it simply for profit or the individual that is simply selling this drug in order to sustain their own habit or to sustain their own lifestyle. You are the individuals that are distributing this poison that is killing 110 Vermonters a year. Stop selling. Get yourself into treatment or get arrested.”
Nolan added that dealers are not the only ones who will be targeted. “A word of warning to landlords particularly absentee landlords. It is neither legal nor is it moral to lease property knowing that it is being used as a base to sell drugs or to use drugs. You may be subject to criminal charges and you may have your property forfeited from you.”
The Drug Enforcement Agency was among the federal agencies involved in the investigation. Special Agent in Charge Brian Boyle noted that more than 72,000 people died last year from drug overdoses in the U.S. and nothing kills more Americans under the age of 50. “In Vermont we will likely see more overdose deaths than ever for the sixth year in a row. Eight thousand Vermonters are currently being treated for opioid addiction with an additional 12,000 who are not yet ready or willing to be treated. We remain in the midst of an epidemic that will not end through law enforcement action alone. But multi-agency operations like these targeting drug wholesalers and their supply chains will have a measurable effect on the price and availability of dangerous illegal drugs.”
Audio is courtesy of The Brattleboro Reformer.
