Police: One of Duluth's Top Heroin Dealers Arrested

DULUTH - While the biggest heroin bust in state history is wrapping up, Duluth police now have one of Duluth’s biggest dealers behind bars. Police are calling the most recent bust a somewhat small victory compared to the 29 people they arrested as part of the statewide bust called Operation Exile. “We're seeing a much more violent offender a lot of times with gang ties back to some of the bigger Midwest cities,” explained Lt. Steve Stracek, the organized crime bureau commander with the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. Last month, departments throughout the state put 65 people behind bars for heroin-related crimes. Twenty-nine of those were caught thanks to the work of Duluth police and St. Louis County authorities. The large bust has led police to find smaller street dealers like Chicagoan Antonio Long, or 'Tone' as he's known on the street. Long was arrested Thursday May 5, 2014 and police say they found 34 grams of heroin, 33 grams of crack cocaine, and a stolen handgun on him. The bag of heroin found on Long was the size of a golf ball. Investigators say it has a value of $17,000. Currently, heroin is seven times more valuable than gold, according to Duluth authorities."We cease firearms but not at this quantity,” Stracek said. “It seems like a lot of these folks that we're encountering have significant criminal histories from other areas." According to police, Long had previously been convicted of attempted murder and felony battery in Illinois. A record like his isn't unusual when it comes to dealing heroin. Police say most dealers have ties to gangs in bigger cities like Minneapolis or Chicago. This makes the criminals more dangerous, and puts police at risk when going in to bust."This certainly is far from over and as time goes on we continue to identify new offenders and continue to investigate those folks," said Stracek. Heroin gets more popular everyday, which means the amount us users, dealers, and distributors are growing. Duluth police are still looking for 12 more people as part of Operation Exile. Police would also like to remind everyone to call 911 if they see anything suspicious.