YOUNGER, BIGGER, MORE VIOLENT
APD tries to tackle flood of cheaper, more plentiful drugs
It’s like Uber Eats, except for meth, heroin and cocaine.
That’s how detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department describe the local drug trade.
A meeting with four officers — some of them grizzled veterans who have been making busts since the 1990s crack epidemic — broke it down into four simple words: younger, bigger, more violent.
In the 72 hours that spanned the last weekend in September, at least 62 arrests were made for drug-related offenses in Bernalillo County — 17 strictly for possession and 29 for drug-related warrants. During that time law enforcement in the county seized more than 25 grams of heroin, 110 grams of meth and an unknown quantity of marijuana, and some of those drugs were found during arrests for shoplifting, domestic violence, DWI and other crimes.
Between January and June, police made more than 1,000 seizures citywide, most of them for heroin, marijuana and meth, APD said. During those busts the unit nabbed 33 ounces of meth, 20 ounces of heroin, 66 ounces of marijuana and seven ounces of cocaine.
As for the methods of distribution, the narcotics officers say the game has changed.
“It’s a delivery system now,” one detective said, calling it a “citywide issue.”
Street corners of the past have been replaced with social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, according to detectives. And the apps aren’t only being used by kids, some as young as 14, but also dealers in their 50s.
Compounding the problem, detectives say a “flood” of drugs into the community has fostered a buyer’s market, making drugs more available at a lower price than “ever before” — in some instances two-thirds cheaper.
With the influx of cheap product, younger dealers are now making more money and becoming more violent. Detectives say it mirrors an upward trend of violence in the drug trade in general.
In the past couple of years the city has seen its fair share of bloodshed during alleged drug deals, particularly by young people.
Just this month, Isaiah Aragon, 18, Asad Moody, 17, and Dion Yepa, 20, were charged with several felonies, ranging from attempted murder and armed robbery to tampering with evidence. The charges stem from the Jan. 17 ambush and shooting of a man during a drug deal in the Northeast Heights. The deal was set up through Snapchat and police say when Jimmy Sechrist drove up he was met with a volley of gunfire.
The 21-year-old was shot several times across his arms, legs and torso.
“My life just won’t be the same from here on out,” Sechrist told the Journal. He declined to talk about the events leading up to the shooting due to the ongoing investigation.
Sechrist said he was able to drive away, fueled by shock and adrenaline, but the pain set in soon after.
“I thought I was paralyzed…,” he said.
Luckily that was not the case. Sechrist would still spend five months in the hospital, undergoing nine surgeries in the first three. He said he had to re-learn to walk and will be on long-term antibiotics, with constant hospital visits, due to all the infections. But he is grateful to be alive.
“I didn’t expect that to happen and it was instant regret — worried more about my life than anything,” he said.
It’s not just the deals that can prove life-threatening, but some of the new substances as well.
As police see an increase in drugs across the board, mainly heroin and meth, a concerning newcomer to the scene is fentanyl, which has become “more and more” commonplace in the past few years.
Detectives say they have found it mixed in with cocaine, heroin and even made to look like prescription painkillers.
Although they wouldn’t show their hand, detectives say they are adapting their tactics to take drugs off the streets as the criminal methods of distributing it change.
But one thing is clear, they have a lot of work to do.
“Drugs are everywhere,” a detective said.