The breakup of a Syracuse-based drug trafficking operation is one of the first successes for SURGE — the “Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic Initiative.” It was created by New York State to target gangs and individuals who deal in heroin and opioid drugs.
It has a special focus on upstate and suburban communities. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says that’s where the opioid epidemic is growing fastest, faster than in New York City.
Attorney General Schneiderman says that’s a big change. A Rockefeller Institute study shows drug deaths increased 71 percent statewide between 2010 and 2015. He says state and local partnerships are trying to break up drug pipelines across New York.
“Operation Brickyard” in Syracuse led to the indictment of more than 50 drug traffickers, from captains to street-level dealers.