30 Arrested In Suspected Multistate Heroin Ring

INDIANAPOLIS -- An informant's tips in Bloomington led to an investigation of a heroin ring that has yielded at least 30 arrests in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Chicago and Cincinnati, authorities said Wednesday.

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Guns, Cash, Heroin Seized

Federal and local officials said the crackdown was an attempt to help shield the Midwest from a resurgence in heroin use on the East and West coasts, where drug trends typically emerge five to 10 years before they reach the central part of the nation.

"This indictment and these arrests are going to send the message that we're going to be on top of the heroin problem, were going to try to get out in front of it," said Susan Brooks, the U.S. attorney for southern Indiana.

Seventeen of those arrested without incident Tuesday face federal charges of taking part in a drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute. The 17 were being held in the Marion County Jail pending court hearings.

Thirteen people alleged to have played smaller roles in the operation were arrested in Marion County -- which encompasses Indianapolis -- with three more arrests pending there, county Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said. No further arrests beyond those three were expected.

Authorities said the arrests put to an end a ring that operated for as long as a decade. Investigators first become aware of the operation through a Bloomington police narcotics officer's interview of an informant, said Armand McClintock, a special agent for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

At a Wednesday news conference, officials displayed $75,000 worth of drugs, $50,000 in cash and a number of guns seized while making the arrests.

Investigators did not immediately know where the heroin originated, pending tests of drugs seized during Tuesday's arrests.

The man accused of being the ring's leader, Larry D. Williams Sr., 47, was arrested in his hometown of Cincinnati.

The ring apparently had no ties to motorcycle gangs such as the Outlaws and Diablos, which have been implicated in other drug operations this year in Indiana, McClintock said.

They also apparently did not import their operation into the Midwest from elsewhere, he said. Those arrested range in age from 26 years to 69.

"These are just old-time heroin traffickers," he said.

Among the 17 facing federal indictments, 12 are Indianapolis residents, with two from the Chicago area, one from Bloomington and two -- including Williams -- from Cincinnati.

Investigators believe ring leaders oversaw heroin shipments from Chicago to Indianapolis, where a "stash house" was located on the city's west side. Midlevel distributors in Indianapolis distributed heroin within the city and to Bloomington.

Heroin transactions also took place in Cincinnati, officials said.

Brooks said authorities want to get on top of the heroin problem early, and not fall behind the curve the way they did with crack cocaine around 10 years ago.

"It is one of the most significant drug problems on the East Coast, after crack and cocaine, and I think what we learned, particularly here in Indianapolis a number of years ago, is that we were behind the curve on crack," Brooks said. "Crack hit both of the coasts and then came to the Midwest late."

Investigators targeted both distributors and users of heroin, in part in response to pressure from foreign countries where drugs are produced to reduce demand in the United States, Brooks said.