Cleveland police seized 2 kilos of heroin, $206,000 in cash and a Glock handgun in a recent raid on a Tremont home.
"It's a very, very large seizure," said Gary Gingell, a Cleveland Police commander who oversees the department's narcotics unit. "That's about $75,000 a kilo wholesale. We're real happy about it."
The street value of two kilos is roughly $300,000. Police found the drugs in a safe at 3115 W. 12th Street.
Police arrested two women, Angelica Umpierre and Madelin Bruno, and charged them with drug trafficking.
The women are suspected of importing the heroin from out of state. They distributed it throughout Cleveland.
Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson voiced his concerns about the high heroin death rate in the county and also referenced a new problem: fentanyl.
"It [fentanyl] is much more potent than heroin, much more lethal than heroin," said Gilson.
The number of fentanyl-related deaths in Cuyahoga County jumped 8-fold between 2013 and 2014. Gilson said the problem continues to rise.
