Three face drug charges after bust

The ongoing battle against opiates continued here Wednesday night.

The Bucyrus Police Department, assisted by the METRICH task force, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Galion Police and Ohio Highway Patrol, served a search warrant at 1375 Whetstone St. Three men are in custody awaiting charges, and suspected heroin and narcotics were seized.

“The investigation was going on for many weeks and the amount of suspected heroin recovered was significant,” said Bucyrus police Chief David Koepke.

Koepke said charges could include drug possession and drug trafficking. The three were taken to the Crawford County Justice Center pending court appearances.

A fourth person was arrested on a warrant from the Shelby Police Department.

An unspecified amount of cash also was taken from the residence at 10:06 p.m.

“This is not a new problem dealing with heroin and opiate abuse,” Koepke said. “This won’t solve the entire problem, as the abuse of opiates continues.”

Koepke said drug overdoses have increased far in 2014.

“We just had a male overdose on Monday and there is evidence of drug use there,” Koepke said. That incident took place on Hopley Avenue. The county coroner has yet to rule on a cause of death in the case.

Koepke reminded residents there is help available for people with addiction problems.

“We have faith-based initiatives at Bucyrus United Methodist Church. They have 12-step programs that meet every week. There are referrals made to rehab programs out of town,” Koepke said.
He said family members should reach out to help “before it’s too late.”

Koepke said people using drugs illegally “could end up in jail or the hospital. There’s plenty of help out there for them. Obviously, it’s too late when we have an ambulance run.”

Originally published in the News Journal on February 13, 2014.