Jefferson City police continue fight against heroin

Jefferson City police say they are winning the fight against heroin in the Capitol City and plan to keep it that way.

Police met Thursday with thecity’spublic safety commission about plans to keepreducingthe number of heroin overdoses.

Last month, Jefferson City police and Mid-Missouri drug task forces arrested 80people,five of themsuspected ofbeing major heroin dealers.

Police say this year they have six times the number ofheroin-related casescompared to the same time last year. Officer say they are making progress.

That’s because there were16overdoses a yearago,compared to only two this year.

“We have anongoing, continual,aggressive enforcement plan where we use our narcotic officers to make narcotic arrests through themonth,and we’ve been really successful,” said Jefferson City Sgt. Joseph Matherne.

This year,undercover officers are encountering fewer sales and are taking noticeofhow sparse heroin dealers are becoming.

Police and drug force units are also incorporating education in their battle against the deadly drug.