Long thought to be an "urban drug," heroin is on local streets.
But Cobleskill Police but a dent in the trafficking after arresting four men last week on charges of selling the drug.
Officers received information about heroin sales in the village last fall. A month-long investigation resulted in "purchases of heroin" made under police supervision, according to Sergeant Rich Bialkowski of the Cobleskill PD.
Arrested were::
•Joshua B. Lindsay, 21, of Cobleskill.
•Rossiter J. Lighthall III, 21, of Warnerville.
•Jacob S. Brown, 22, of Sharon Springs.
•Jacob Olivieri-McKersie, 21, of Warnerville.
Police arrested the first three on February 15 and Mr. Olivieri-McKersie on the 19th.
Police charged Mr. Lindsay with two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Police charged the other three with one count of the same charge.
All the charges are felonies.
Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Lighthall were arraigned in Schoharie County Court. Mr. Lindsay was remanded to the county jail on $7,500 cash bail, $15,000 bond. Mr. Lighthall was ordered held on $6,000 bail, $12,000 bond.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Olivieri- McKersie were sent to the county jail to await arraignment in county court.
Although arrests for marijuana and cocaine possession and sale are fairly common, those for heroin have generally been less so, until now.
Police Chief Larry Travis estimated that his department had about six arrests for heroin possession since mid-2012 but no arrests for sales until last week.
"It's gotten to be one of the more popular drugs in the area, especially with the younger crowd, late teens, early 20s," he said. "It seems to be the drug of choice."
That's been especially true within the past year, Sergeant Bialkowski added.
"We've seen it more here," he said. "We've found lots of needles on people and in vehicles. It's cheap and a quick high. Those make it popular."
Chief Travis agreed.
"The ease of obtaining the drug, the cost of it indicate it's increasing," he said.
After the initial investigation, officers took the evidence to the Schoharie County grand jury, which issued sealed indictments for the four suspects.
Police are continuing their investigation, and Sergeant Bialkowski is expecting more arrests.
"We'll definitely keep working at it and get it out of our area," he said.
Anyone with information can contact Sergeant Bialkowski at 234-2923.