Heroin again makes central Minn. inroads

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) -- When Brent Fair became an undercover drug investigator almost seven years ago, methamphetamine was the big concern. Overdoses on other drugs were rare.

As Fair returns to patrol duties this month, the landscape has changed. And he says it scares him.

Heroin has made an aggressive comeback in central Minnesota, the St. Cloud Times reported Sunday.

There have been five overdoses resulting in two deaths in the last month and a half in the St. Cloud area. There also have been four deaths in Mille Lacs County since the first of the year, two deaths in Sherburne County and at least one each in Wright and Morrison counties.

"I think it's the tip of the iceberg," Fair said. "I don't want to alarm you, but there will be, within a year, kids dying. And it will be high school kids, people still in school; the tragic story, the cheerleader or the captain of the football team."