Pubdate: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 Source: Daily Times-Call, The (Longmont, CO) Copyright: 2007, The Daily Times-Call Contact: http://www.longmontfyi.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1475 Author: John Fryar Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) HEROIN ACTIVITY IN COUNTY RISES BOULDER -- The Boulder County Drug Task Force is investigating an increase in heroin-related activity that officers say is illustrated by five fatal overdoses over the past five months. The task force's chief, Sheriff's Cmdr. Steve Prentup, said a review of Boulder police and county coroner's records for the period between Oct. 1 and this past Wednesday showed: Five heroin-related deaths: four in Boulder and one in Longmont. Two heroin-related overdoses in which users were revived and treated in Boulder. Three Boulder police patrol arrests involving heroin use in public restrooms in that city. Sixteen heroin-related incidents or reports made to the Boulder Police Department, including restaurant owners complaining that people had been shooting up in their restrooms. Prentup said that in the past, Boulder County law enforcement authorities would come across only two to three overdose-death reports a year, in locations scattered all over the county. The Boulder County Drug Task Force has a team of detectives investigating the apparent increased heroin presence in the county. "It's common practice for heroin to be used almost as quickly as it is purchased, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify and apprehend offenders," Prentup said. The task force said a combination of heroin and cocaine was found in the systems of two of the five victims of the overdose deaths. Heroin-cocaine "speedballs" dramatically increase the chances of overdose and death, the task force said. In the western United States, "black tar" heroin from Mexico is the most common available form, with a higher purity level that can cause overdoses in users accustomed to lower levels, police said. Prentup said task force drug investigations previously came across heroin about once a year over the last three years. He said Boulder County users typically traveled to Denver to buy the drug. Now, Prentup said, authorities are checking out reports that heroin is being delivered directly to Boulder County. On Tuesday, county commissioners approved letting the task force apply for nearly $134,000 in federal drug-enforcement grants after getting assurances from Sheriff Joe Pelle that the unit is focusing on the distribution of "hard" drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. Law enforcement agencies participating in the Boulder County Drug Task Force include the Boulder County Sheriff's Office; the Boulder County District Attorney's Office; and the University of Colorado, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, Nederland and Boulder police departments. Longmont has its own drug-enforcement unit. The Boulder County Drug Task Force invites anyone with information about heroin in Boulder County to call the task force at 303-441-1690 or Crimestoppers of Boulder County at 1-800-222-8477. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman