Springfield officials describe large drug seizure, plan joint review of drug-free zone law

Lieutenant Jamie Bruno of the Springfield Police Department told the Springfield City Health and Human Services Committee that a multiagency probe into illegal activity at Garcia Market and a neighboring appliance store dismantled an organization and recovered “12,000 grams of heroin and about a pound of fentanyl,” along with firearms.

The seizure and fears about fentanyl contamination prompted city councilors, public-health officials and residents to press for more enforcement, prevention and treatment resources and to ask the city’s two relevant committees to meet jointly to examine whether local action — including a home-rule petition — is needed to change how the state'level “drug-free” zone law is enforced.

Bruno described the investigation as a long-term, two-year operation that involved state and federal partners as well as Springfield detectives. He said the quantity of fentanyl seized “could have caused quite a significant amount of overdoses,” and warned that cocaine contaminated with fentanyl raises the risk of accidental overdose because a user expecting cocaine may ingest fentanyl.

Council…