Heroin Smugglers Reach Middle America Via Pellets and Human Couriers


Pellets, Planes, and the New Frontier
is an article that looks at the rise in heroin use in the US, and how cartels from South America are finding ways to reach middle America.

The article itself tracks how a courier moves from Mexico over to Dayton, OH. It’s a surprising journey, in that the courier flies in to Indianapolis, and then hops a 2 hour cab ride over to Dayton.

Of additional interest: pellets are now being used by couriers, who swallow them and travel with the drugs hidden inside their bodies. The person referenced in the article was carrying a full two pounds, a whole kilo worth.

He practiced with baby carrots, swallowing them whole, easing them down his throat with yogurt. Later came the heroin pellets, each loaded with 14 grams of powder, machine-wrapped in wax paper and thick latex.

The logistics of the route I found fascinating. But in waching the short video at the top of the article, I was reminded how a large part of the recent resurgence in heroin seems to stem from the rise in pill abuse and prescription. If you haven’t seen it yet the documentary Oxyana, by Sean Dunne, is really worth a watch.

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Related:
Oxyana: Documentary on the Impact of Oxycontin in the Town of Oceana, West Virginia
The One-Man Drug Company

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