Officials seize 'monumental' amount of heroin in Hazleton
Hazleton police working with state agents took about 19,000 bags of heroin worth approximately $100,000 out of the hands of dealers and users in Greater Hazleton on Monday night, according to court papers.
Ryan M. Hunsinger, 26, no known address, was charged with two counts manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance and one conspiracy count, all felonies.Ramon Lorenzo, 37, of Hazleton, faces felonies for one count manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver and one count conspiracy.They were arraigned Tuesday morning by Magisterial District Judge David Barilla, Swoyersville, who set bail at $250,000 each, court records state.Unable to immediately post bail, the men were taken to Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Wilkes-Barre, according to court dockets. Later Tuesday, Mayor Jeff Cusat, interim police Chief Jerry Speziale and a number of uniformed and plainclothes officers announced at a news conference at city hall that the arrests are the first step in the administration’s “vision of a safer city.”“If you’re selling drugs in the City of Hazleton or you think you’re going to — or even if you think you’re going to come here and buy drugs — we are going to make it our business to arrest you and prosecute you to the fullest extent,” Speziale said. “If you dare and try and sell drugs in our city, we’re coming for you.”Thousands of heroin packets were displayed on a table during the roughly half-hour conference. Plainclothes detectives showed off contents of the haul, which were grouped and displayed by individual packets, bundles (10 bags grouped together), and bricks (five bundles).