Rutland, Vermont - December 7, 2011
Police in Rutland say they busted three people in a cocaine and heroin operation.
On Monday, in an upstairs apartment on Strongs Avenue, two men using the aliases, "Uncle Vinny" and "Nephew," were arrested for possession and conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.
Police can't comment on the investigation because it's still on-going and they hope to make more arrests as the case unfolds, but they do say that out-of-state dealers have become a growing problem in Rutland. "It's an intricate network and it will change on a weekly basis, sometimes on a daily basis, of who can supply and who can't," said Rutland Police Sgt. Kevin Sly.
Sgt. Sly says dealers are driving to major cities, picking up large quantities of drugs and selling them to local dealers, who then distribute out to individual addicts. "Unfortunately, and very sadly for the victims of drug abuse, they have a need, and their need is fed by these people coming in from the major metropolitan areas with their drugs and with their products and they are victimizing our communities," he said.
According to the affidavit, Keith Dunn aka "Nephew" says he had been renting the apartment for two weeks, but would only spend three to four days in Rutland, then return to New York City for a day to pick up more drugs, sell for half a week, and repeat. Police say this migratory behavior of out of state dealers is common, and not just in Rutland.
"We work hand in hand with the city. We work hand in hand with the sheriff's departments across the state and we're all seeing the same thing. We're all seeing an increase in this behavior going on," said Vermont State Police Lt. Chuck Cacciatore.
And Sgt. Sly says the constant movement of dealers can make investigations difficult. "Anytime you have someone that's transitory like that -- they are not sedentary -- it's going to be more difficult to track them, especially when they start going outside of community boundaries outside of state."
Police say it's the group effort of local and state police as well as the Vermont Drug Task Force that will really make a difference. Just last week authorities worked together and were able to pull a car over that was a known drug dealer and make the arrest before he was able to distribute in Vermont.
