With Heroin Usage Skyrocketing in Capital Region, Schumer Calls for Emergency Anti-Drug Trafficking Funding Surge to Combat Problem

Press Release

Today, in the rotunda at the Albany County Court House, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, alongside local law enforcement officials, Kevin and Diane Flood, and Patty Farrell, called for an emergency $100 million surge of federal anti-drug trafficking funding in order to quickly combat the growing heroin problem in the Capital Region. Schumer noted that over the past couple of years, heroin overdoses and arrests have skyrocketed in the region, particularly because of Albany's location between Vermont, one of the main epicenters of heroin abuse, and New York City, a major point along the East Coast heroin pipeline. Schumer said he is pushing for these federal funds to be allocated to federally-designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) like Albany County to give local law enforcement the boost in funding they need to better assess the unique drug trafficking patterns forming in the region.

Schumer also announced that he is urging the federal Department of Justice to unlock over $6 million in funding owed to Albany County law enforcement. Schumer explained that this is money that was seized in cases jointly investigated by the feds and local law enforcement, which DOJ owes back ‎to the county, but it is currently mired in bureaucratic red tape in Washington. Schumer said that this funding should be sent to Albany County as soon as possible so it can be put to good use in combating the drug trade.

"Over the past couple of years the Capital Region has begun to emerge as a major hub of the heroin trade, leading to a sharp increase in trafficking and overdoses that is tearing families and communities apart. The funding this area receives from the federal government to combat the drug trade and coordinate law enforcement efforts is simply not enough, and we need to deliver more funding before it's too late," said Schumer. "We all remember the horrors caused by the crack epidemic when it was left unchecked by federal officials and other law enforcement, and that's why I am urging my colleagues in Congress to provide $100 million in extra federal anti-drug tracking dollars for HIDTA counties like Albany so that we can adequately crack down on drugs traveling through the Capital Region."

Schumer continued, "I am also calling on the Department of Justice to unlock more than $6 million in funding that is owed to Albany County. This funding will be put to much better use combating the region's heroin scourge than being tied up in red tape in Washington."

Schumer was joined by Kevin and Diane Flood, parents of a child addicted to heroin; Patty Farrell, a former police detective who lost her daughter to the heroin scourge; Courtney Lovell, a recovering heroin addict who now works with young people who have fallen into addiction; Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple; and other law enforcement officials.

"Funding is a vital component in combating the heroin epidemic. I applaud Senator Schumer's effort in fighting for this assistance to help keep our communities safe," said Craig Apple, Albany County Sheriff.

Schumer urged his colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee to boost funding for the HIDTA program from $238,522,000 to $338,522,000. Schumer said that this would provide HIDTA counties like Albany, which are in dire need of emergency assistance, with an additional $100 million. The Office of National Drug Control Policy's HIDTA program has been instrumental in the fight against prescription drug abuse, and as they turn their attention to heroin, Schumer said in his letter that they need our continued support.

The purpose of the HIDTA program is to reduce drug trafficking and production in the United States. The program's goal is to facilitate cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; to share information and implement coordinated enforcement activities; to enhance intelligence sharing among law enforcement agencies as well as public health officials; to provide reliable law enforcement intelligence to law enforcement agencies to facilitate the design of effective enforcement strategies; and to support coordinated law enforcement strategies that make the most of available resources to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in the U.S. There are currently 28 HIDTAs, which include approximately 16 percent of all counties in the United States and 60 percent of the U.S. population. Each HIDTA assesses the drug trafficking threat in its defined area for the upcoming year, develops a strategy to address that threat, designs initiatives to implement the strategy, proposes funding needed to carry out the initiatives, and prepares an annual report describing its performance the previous year.

Schumer said that this emergency surge of funding will help strengthen the unique intelligence, surveillance and coordination that HIDTA provides, which is critical in tracking and dismantling drug rings, particularly the type of trafficking that has begun to take hold in the Capital Region. To explain the uptick in heroin trafficking and abuse in the Capital Region, Schumer pointed to the NY/NJ HIDTA 2015 Threat Assessment Report, which notes, "the Albany area functions as a major regional distribution hub, with individuals traveling from neighboring states including Vermont, Massachusetts, as well as rural areas of northern New York to purchase heroin."

Schumer noted that Albany County is already designated as a HIDTA, and both the Rensselaer and Schenectady County Sheriffs serve on the local HIDTA task force, meaning that the entire region benefits from Albany's HIDTA designation. In addition, Schumer noted that many Hudson Valley counties, as well as New York City, have a HIDTA designation as well, meaning that any surge in funding for the entire HIDTA program would help disrupt the pipeline that brings heroin from New York City, through the Hudson Valley up to the Capital Region, and on to Vermont.

Schumer also announced that he is urging the federal DOJ to unlock over $6 million in funding that is owed to Albany County law enforcement as a result of a $10 million offshore gambling case that started in the Albany Sheriff's office. Schumer explained that, because the case originated in Albany County, the county is owed a significant portion of the money that was confiscated -- $6 million in this case. However, Schumer said, this funding is currently mired in bureaucratic red tape in Washington. Schumer said that this funding should be sent to Albany County as soon as possible so it can be put to good use in combating the drug trade.

According to the Department of Justice, heroin availability has increased since 2012, most likely due to an increase in Mexican heroin production and Mexican traffickers expanding into the eastern and Midwest U.S. markets. According to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York and a report from the New York Times, the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico has been using cocaine trafficking routes to export heroin. The report notes that approximately 35 percent of heroin seized by the DEA since October occurred in New York State. According to New York State Poison Control, in Albany, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties, the total number of exposures, overdoses, call-ins, and deaths reported between 2010 and 2014 increased by 58 percent.

Schumer said that 4.2 million Americans ages 12 and older reportedly have used heroin at least once. According to the Albany County Sheriff's Office, heroin availability and abuse has increased significantly in Albany County because it is more cost effective. According to the police, heroin users in many nearby rural counties travel to Albany, where the addictive narcotic sells for $10 per bag or $100 per bundle. The Addictions Care Center of Albany has also seen admissions for opiate addiction increase by 75 percent within the last few years. According to the Albany County Sheriff's Office, there were 32 total arrests in 2012 for the possession or sale of heroin, specifically. In 2013, this increased to 49 arrests due to the possession or sale of heroin. And in 2014, there were 59 arrests for the possession or sale of heroin in Albany County. According to the Albany County Sheriff's Office, the total weight in heroin seized by police in 2014 was 1636 grams, or $180,000 in street value. This is drastically up from the 894 grams totaling $89,500 seized in 2013 and the 77 grams totaling $7,700 seized in 2012.

Schumer said that this startling trend in the Capital Region shows that drug arrests, and more specifically heroin arrests, are on the rise. As of November 2014, there were 283 drug-related incarcerations at the Albany County Correctional Facility alone. This is up from the 252 incarcerations in 2013 and the 224 intakes in 2012.

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