Heroin, Fentanyl Among Drugs Seized During Large Bust In New Kensington
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NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) -- Authorities say hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal drugs are off the streets after a bust in New Kensington.
Flanked by local law enforcement leadership, and in front of an impressive array of guns, money and alleged illegal drugs, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the results of seven-month long investigation into drug trafficking in Westmoreland County.
"We worked with a dozen law enforcement organizations to get these drugs, these dealers and these guns of the streets," said Shapiro.
Special strategic response teams from the Attorney General's Office and multiple police agencies combined to for the following.
"We seized more than 54 pounds of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and other narcotics from drug dealers throughout the county," said Shapiro. "We seized 13 illegal firearms. We seized $130,000 from drug dealers during the course of this investigation. There were 89 arrests of individuals on an array of charges associated with drug dealing."
With assistance from local law enforcement agencies like New Kensington, Shapiro says more than $600,000 in illegal drugs are off the street, specifically in Westmoreland County.
Of that amount, $422,000 was heroin or fentanyl.
"Seizure of fentanyl is up 500 percent this year, 500 percent. And, we saw for the first time last year, overdoses involving fentanyl eclipsed heroine in terms of the drug used in that death," Shapiro said.
For law enforcement, this is a team win, but the Attorney General made clear, this is but one battle won in a war that's far from over.
"We're doing whatever it takes to get these dealers and this poison out of these communities," Shapiro said. "We're not going away."
