Local News
Undercover sting operation nets 16 drug arrests at local high schools
04/30/13
by Misha DiBono
Reporter
SAN DIEGO, CA – More than a dozen high school students and former students have been arrested in an undercover drug sting in North East San Diego. Operation A-team involved several local high schools and was prompted by a rise in drug overdoses for high school age kids.
“Heroin resurgence is a direct result of the prescription drug abuse,” said Sheriff William Gore at a press conference Tuesday just hours after the arrests were made. Three San Diego sheriff’s deputies went back to high school – undercover – to try and find answers to a recent wave over drug overdoses.
The sting started last year, the undercover cops enrolled at Mission Hills, Poway, Abraxas and Ramona. Arrest warrants were issued to 9 students and former students and 10 adults for the sale of narcotics.
Everything from marijuana to cocaine to heroin to oxycodone, said Sheriff Gore, adding “so many times - too many time the kids get started in their own families medicine cabinet.”
In fact prescription drug addiction is epidemic and that say the experts is why we are seeing a rise in heroin use. Kids turn to less expensive heroin after their free resource of prescription drugs run out, something Sherrie Rubin is all too familiar with, “Aaron as laying on a cold metal table, lifeless and my husband started screaming its drugs its drug its drugs!”
Like so many parents she missed the warning signs, “never in a million years did we thing it could be an issue with prescription pills.” Aaron suffered two strokes and heart attack during a drug overdose. He survived.
Her mission now is to educate parents about what to look for and the dangers of prescription drugs left unattended.
“Children have no perception of harm. They see them prescribed from a doctor and they think they are safe and they’re going to try them”
Sheriff Gore confirms the move to heroin becomes an easy one: “you get the same type of high, that’s all oxytocin is synthetic heroin.”
“You end up never thinking your going to become a heroin addict when you take these pills.”
The sheriff’s department will use the information from Tuesday’s sting to educate school administrators about what to look for and how to keep students safe.