$61,000 in heroin seized
By John Joyce
Published in News on July 13, 2014 1:50 AM
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More than 61 brick of heroin, which would create 3,050 bindles of the drug, were seized.
A Goldsboro man suspected of supplying local mid-level drug dealers with heroin from Newark, N.J., is being held in the Greene County Jail today under a $1,000,000 secured bond.
Investigators say Willie James Barr Jr., 41, of 913 Fourth St., was allegedly caught transporting $61,000 worth of heroin at the time of his arrest.
"This particular seizure is one of the biggest we've ever had in Wayne County," Sheriff Larry Pierce said. "We're talking about thousands of dollars in heroin that we have stopped from circulating on our streets."
Barr is charged with one count each of trafficking heroin by possession, trafficking heroin by transportation, maintaining a vehicle for the use or sale of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The arrest comes on the heels of a three-month investigation conducted by the Goldsboro/Wayne County Interagency Drug Task Force, with the assistance of the DEA and the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
According to a press release issued by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, drug squad officers learned of Barr's alleged activities throughout the course of the ongoing, multi-agency investigation into the sale and distribution of heroin in and around Wayne County.
Investigators used citizen-driven complaints, Crime Stoppers, confidential sources and physical surveillance to learn that Barr was traveling to Newark, purchasing heroin and delivering it back to Goldsboro, the press release said.
Barr was seen leaving New Jersey Thursday and heading toward a destination previously unknown to law enforcement.
The Greene County Sheriff's Office was contacted and a traffic stop conducted by deputies resulted in the discovery of 61 bricks of heroin valued at $1,000 a piece.
According to the press release, when broken down for distribution, the 61 bricks of heroin pan out to make 3,050 bindles, or individually packaged doses.
Pierce named drugs and the targeting of drug dealers as one of his primary goals when taking office.
He said the amount of time and energy his and the Goldsboro/Wayne Interagency Drug Task Force's agents have dedicated to the issue has been impressive.
"The efforts they are making are outstanding. I feel like we're doing 100 percent-plus," Pierce said.