Attorney General Kathleen Kane, Hazleton Police Chief Hail Success

HAZLETON, PA — Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Police Chief Frank DeAndrea pointed to the successes of Kane’s Mobile Street Crime Unit on Wednesday and asked residents of Hazleton and across the commonwealth to help the success continue.

At the urging of state Sen. John Yudichak to address violent drug-related crime plaguing Northeastern Pennsylvania, Kane organized the Region X Intensive Mobile Proactive Anti-Crime Team — IMPACT — task force and deployed it to Hazleton in September to dismantle gang-run drug trafficking networks.

The approximately 20-member team, composed of federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement officers, racked up more than 120 arrests and seized about 35,000 packets of heroin, quantities of crack cocaine, numerous vehicles, handguns, rifles, an assault weapon and thousands of dollars in cash, with many of the items on display at a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday.

Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, noted that a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Justice detailed the foothold that drug-trafficking organizations had established in the Hazleton area and that branched off throughout Luzerne and surrounding counties.

Read more:  http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1206626/Kane-Hazleton-chief-hail-success

Officials Say Heroin A Huge Problem In Pa.

English: Modified IM/IV syringe used for “plugging” heroin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG — Heroin is a growing epidemic in Pennsylvania, and Luzerne County is no exception.

State police Commissioner Frank Noonan told the state House Judiciary Committee this week that the drug is dangerous because users become adjusted to the high it produces. As a result, users have to inject more of the drug, which leads to a higher risk of overdose.

He said users will also typically mix the drug with others in an attempt to achieve the same high.

The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing to discuss the heroin epidemic this week. Afterward, committee member state Rep. Tarah Toohil provided data on the number of heroin deaths in Luzerne County. So far this year, 20 people have died form using heroin with other drugs — users often take multiple drugs. There were 31 deaths in 2012.

Read m0re: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/1001824/Officials-say-heroin-a-huge-problem-in-Pa.