Editorial: Fentanyl, ketamine in neighborhood sends chills

A recent 34th District Court case had testimony from a Belleville Police officer who said 56 fentanyl pills were discovered in a car he stopped at the corner of Third and North Liberty streets in Belleville. That was on May 2, 2021, but the case was just being adjudicated.
Charges against the defendant were dismissed by the judge because the defense attorney convinced her that his client didn’t know the pills were in the car because he had borrowed the car from someone else. Although the defendant had scales in his pocket, pills are counted out and not distributed by weight, and no one was using drugs. There was no evidence to prove the intent of distribution. And, all the cash in his pocket was from money from the government stimulus checks since it was during the pandemic.
The police officer testified this is a very dangerous drug to the community. He told of how he and his partner carefully checked their Narcan to make sure they had it in case they touched the dangerous drug accidentally.
Another recent news release from Detroit Metro Airport said on Dec. 13 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted 110 pounds of ketamine in a traveler’s baggage.
We’re sure the local police see drugs every day and we don’t hear about it. But these two recent public stories send a chill to our communities because they show how close these drugs are to our families.