(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Police, politicians, and residents of South Boston are banding together in hopes of waging a war on drugs following a "spike" in drug overdoses and drug-related murders within the tight-knit community.
According to an article in the Boston Herald, lawmakers led by U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Boston cops, and federal agents have made more than 100 arrests, including 16 alleged drug dealers who were arrested in the past two weeks.
Despite the push, the number of fatal overdoses in Southie has risen, including two in the past two weeks.
The Boston Public Health Commission would not release exact numbers, but acknowledged the "spike" and has released teams into areas like the South Boston that seem to be struggling with heroin and prescription pills.
City statistics obtained by the Herald indicate that overdoses citywide, fatal and nonfatal, had more than doubled from 44 in May 2011 to 90 this past May. The past week alone, June 25-July 1, showed a similar doubling from 17 in 2011 to 35 this year.
For more information: Boston Herald
