The Opioid Epidemic: Meeting the Challenge

By John Adams, Berks County District Attorney

The battle continues right here in Berks County to somehow stop people from dying. As I have stated time and time again, there are no quality controls when you chose to buy and ingest drugs that are purchased on the street. The user, and even many times the seller, have no idea that the cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine they are peddling or buying has been cut with fentanyl or many other substances. Buyers beware because you may die when you ingest these street drugs.

This was proven once again when we faced another mass overdose episode on April 9th and April 10th, 2022. 18 people overdosed; 11 of those died because of ingesting what we believe to be cocaine laced with fentanyl. Detectives from the Reading Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office reacted immediately and while we haven’t made any arrests to date, they are working diligently on identifying the suppliers of the drugs, and I am hopeful arrests will be made in the near future. This was the second time our community has been rocked by massive overdoses. In September 2021, we had 101 people who overdosed in a three-day period. The death toll from that episode was three people who lost their lives. The September overdose episode was called a poisoning by our fellow SOS Berks member, Dr. William Santoro. This overdose episode resulted in over one hundred hospitalizations and required the issuance of a public health alert. This episode overwhelmed the healthcare capacity for Berks County. Detectives from the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force and the Reading Police Department identified at least three outlets who were distributing “street level” quantities of the tainted heroin. The heroin that was being sold that caused these overdoses were all packaged similarly in blue packets. Detectives quickly developed evidence and raided three locations and arrested several suspects. Although the outlets were closed and shut down by law enforcement, detectives continued to investigate the source of the tainted heroin.

Subsequently, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force, the City of Reading Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration teamed up and launched an investigation. During the investigation, detectives identified an organization distributing large quantities of heroin, including the sources of the tainted heroin. They identified Aurelio Xarrazana Sanchez, who resides at 119 N. 3rd Street, Reading, PA, as the main outlet for the organization in Berks County.

As the investigation progressed, other suspects were developed which revealed a drug smuggling network that reached surrounding out of state sources. Detectives utilized a court authorized wiretap as the primary tool in the investigation. The wiretap began in December of 2021 and detectives monitored the criminal activity being conducted for approximately a twomonth period. Detectives identified twenty-three suspects that were active members of the organization and seven locations in Berks County that were utilized as points of distribution. As a result, search warrants were served, and numerous suspects were taken into custody.

The following items were seized; a substantial amount of controlled substances with a street value of approximately $500,000, three firearms and a large amount of U.S. Currency believed to be the proceeds from drug sales. This drug ring stretched to the Bronx, New York. Twenty-three people were arrested in Berks County and three of the main suppliers were arrested in the Bronx because of this wiretap investigation. The fight continues. This successful investigation was the direct result of the first mass overdose that occurred in this County. The lesson to be learned is that law enforcement will not rest. We will continue to look to identify the source of these drugs no matter where that will lead us. And we will hold accountable those that are the cause of the opioid epidemic that too often has tragic consequences in our community.

What we have learned from these tragic cases is that we cannot let our pedal off the gas. We need to chase down, identify, and arrest those responsible for spreading this poison in our community. We need to continue to treat those with addictions and continue to emphasize treatment because treatment works. While we need to combat the supply chain by arresting the sources or the seller of the poison, we also need to address the buyer so that they will not succumb to the tragic consequences that drugs can bring not only to the user themself but to the family and loved ones who are affected when a life is lost at a young age because of the tragic consequences of the opioid epidemic.

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