International Drug Trafficking Right Here At Home

'Mansfield Police were told by postal inspectors Thursday a package from China containing a controlled substance was beign shipped to an address in Mansfield...'

Shocking? Maybe. A new tactic? Hardly.

In this day and age of 'point-and-click' it is very easy to purchase drugs via the internet...and has been for some time now. Your son or daughter, brother, aunt, even your grandfather can surf the web, find a foreign outlet for percocent, xanax or whatever precription drug of their choice may be and have it shipped to their door with just a few keystrokes on a laptop.

Even marijuana, cocaine and heroin can be delivered by the US Postal Service, FedEx, DHL or UPS, using sophisticated packaging put together by a guy in China, Paraguay or any third-world country to mask its contents. The Drug Enforcement Agency, Customs and Border Protection, postal inspectors and a plethora of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are scrambling daily to keep up with technology used by overseas traffickers in order to stem the flow of drugs into this country.

Years ago we had such a case in Lexington, that quiet bedroom community here in Richland county. We'd noticed short-duration traffic in and out of a residence in a rather upper middle-class residential area and did a little digging, using intelligence from an informant ( they're called 'cooperating individuals' now...'informant' was deemed to be a rather unflattering designation for persons giving information to police about crime and criminals ) and also utilized a simple, unsophisticated method to collect additional evidence of an active, ongoing crime occurring with some frequency at this particular house. We worked up a search warrant, got it signed by a judge and then rudely interrupted that household's evening when the tactical entry team swarmed through the house and secured the occupants.

Why did we use what's commonly called a 'SWAT' team? Well, you see, this 21 year old, living with his mother, her boyfriend and two younger sisters, had in his possession a fifty-caliber Desert Eagle hand-cannon, a tactical rifle and another handgun, and had been selling dope he'd bought over the internet right under the family's nose. The stuff was coming from a South American country under a phony pharmaceutical name and he was in possession of a large amount of pills and cash when the Boys in Black had knocked, ever so gently, on the front and back doors.

That same senario occurrs daily, multiple times, in these United States, as evidenced by the first paragraph; an entry that confirms the massive obstacles law enforcement faces when combatting the tsunami of overseas traffickers.

If you see something, say something. A house in your neighborhood gets multiple weekly deliveries from commercial carriers, followed by a lot of short-stay visitors? It may be nothing, but then again...

Unsung Hero

The word 'hero' can have different meaning to different people; for instance, my biggest hero growing up was my Dad. He wasn't an athlete or politician, he was never in the military, but he taught me values, morals and how to approach life. He worked two jobs a good part of my childhood and wasn't around a lot of the time because of it but, looking back now, he's an even bigger hero to me.

He did what he had to do in order to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our backs. If something broke at the house, chances were very good that Dad could fix it...and did. Dad's gone now, passing away in October of 2014 at the age of 88, and I miss him greatly.

Times have changed since my generation began its trek towards senior citizenship...and so has American society. In today's world, generally, two-income households are the norm rather than the exception. They have to be. It takes two wage-earners to provide a stable income for the family, one that allows for things such as cars for the young driver(s), college education(s) and all the latest, most current electronic personal entertainment devices: video gaming systems, cell phones, tablets...you get the idea.

Single-parent homes are commonplace as well. If you want to see the walking, talking definition of the word 'stress', try talking to a single parent having full custody of a child or children. Paying bills for basic needs such as rent, utilities, and transportation is tough enough; add in child care costs and college tuition and the task becomes almost insurmountable.

That brings me to a current personal hero of mine, one that works two jobs, goes to college and raises a child alone. Rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, tuition for higher education for herself, food, clothing and all the associated costs of raising a son...I can't imagine the stress in this young woman's life, yet she handles it with aplomb. My wife and I know very well how good of a mother she is because we have the privilege of calling her our 'adopted daughter', a gal we love very much; her son, Butch, calls Stacy and I Mamaw and Papaw, and he is one of the centerpieces of our lives.

My hero's name is Cassy Hetrick.