WHITMAN, Mass. — Residents on Old South Avenue in Whitman are feeling a sense of relief after a suspected fentanyl drug house was shut down by police.
Police tell FOX25 that in just four months there have been five non-fatal overdose calls in and around the first floor apartment
“Days nights weekend holidays, you name it. It’s always party time at the drug house,” James Perret, a neighbor, said.
Another neighbor says it been a nightmare for his wife and two young kids.
“They will be walking around like zombies when they do it. They sleep all day up all night,” a neighbor said.
Authorities say 23-year-old Robert Barton lived at the home with his father. Along with two other associates who did not live at the home, 23-year-old Ryan Hooper and 24-year-old Saquann Lois of Brockton, Barton is accused of dealing fentanyl, a drug known as the king of all opiates.
“Unfortunately, it just seems like were now dealing with something more stronger than heroin,” West Bridgewater Police Det. Sgt. Tim Nixon said.
The bust follows a lengthy investigation by a drug task force made up detectives from police departments in the Bridgewater area
Nixon says dealers who used to mix fentanyl with heroin are now selling fentanyl on its own. The synthetic opiate produces an instant high and, according to Nixon, is 40 to 50 times stronger than heroin
“I don’t think the drug use is any more significant than it used to be,” Nixon said. “This just seems to be the better mousetrap they come up with, it’s stronger, they can manufacture it cheaper and this is what they are inserting into the market. The users sometimes believe they are buying heroin.”
Cox Media Group
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