Large-Scale Heroin Raid Taking Place Along Woodward Corridor

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Royal Oak and Ferndale are assisting state and federal authorities in raids taking place along the Woodward Avenue corridor Tuesday to disrupt what authorities are calling a “large-scale,” “violent” heroin ring.

Nine federal and three state search warrants targeting locations between Six Mile and Eight Mile roads, as well as east of Woodward between McNichols Road and Eight Mile, the FBI said in a news release. The operation is aimed at combating recent violence and curbing heroin sales.

In the news release, the FBI said heroin is a significant problem in the metro area, leading to numerous deaths and overdoses.

The local departments are assisting the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Michigan State Police, the Detroit Police Department, and multiple crime and gang task forces.

The operation began about 5 a.m.

One of the targets was a suspected drug house in the area of Goldengate and John R. A neighbor, Robert Pizzimenti, 53, told The Detroit News he was aware of alleged drug trafficking, mostly of crack cocaine, but said the occupants of the residence, all in their 20s, “were just trying to get by.”

“They weren’t using drugs, just selling them,” said Pizzimenti, who owns Innate Healing and Goldengate Cafe on the corner. He described seeing a large armored truck driving down the street and then hearing windows shattering.

Pizzimenti told the Detroit Free Press that he thinks the raid could have been conducted without heavy armored SWAT trucks and deputies wearing camouflage.

Heroin deaths nationwide increased 172 percent from 2010-2013, according to the DEA,

In Oakland County, overdoses nearly doubled from 2013-2014, according to to The Detroit News report.