CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 5 (UPI) -- Charlotte, N.C., has emerged as a key distribution point for black tar heroin coming into the United States from Mexico, officials said.
The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday that heroin seizures in the city have risen 233 percent since 2005, from 214 grams to 714 grams. Meanwhile, officials said drug-related violence does not appear to have increased over the same period.
The newspaper noted that the U.S. Department of Justice's 2009 National Drug Threat Assessment identified Charlotte as one of 230 American cities where Mexican traffickers "maintain drug distribution networks" to sell heroine, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines.
John Emerson of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said Mexican drug cartels have taken over most of the heroin market in Charlotte while Colombian heroin is directed to the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., drug market.
