The search of an Ashville area home last Friday evening was just the tip of the iceberg for narcotics officers with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department. Officers made two drug-related arrests Friday evening but their work doesn’t end with just those arrests.
Narcotics officer Rick Oliver said the department is making a number of cases each month for possession and distribution of drugs but the work continues and he hopes to make many, many more in the future.
“A lot of work goes into making these cases,” he said. “You have to obtain the information, work informants, execute search warrants, it’s a lot of work.”
Oliver said Friday’s arrests were made after officers received information that there were narcotics in a home on Evergreen Road in the Ashville area.
“We obtained a search warrant and found one-and-a-half pounds of marijuana and an amount of cocaine,” Oliver said.
Oliver said Dewey Corley Jr. of Evergreen Road was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine in the first degree as a result of the search of Corley’s home.
Martin Muzer of 22252 U.S. 11 in Steele was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana in an earlier traffic stop.
“They really put a lot of work into this case,” Sheriff Terry Surles said. “The public gives us this information and it takes awhile to make the case. When we take people to court, we want to make sure it sticks.”
Marijuana and cocaine were the topic drugs Friday evening, but Oliver said they aren’t all that is showing up in St. Clair County.
“We’re seeing crystal methamphetamine, crack cocaine, marijuana, and assorted prescription drugs such as Lortab and Oxycontin,” he said. “We’re also seeing GHB (Gamma hydroxy butyrate or Gamma hydroxybutyric acid) and Ecstasy.”
GHB is commonly known as a date rape drug because of its ability to produce euphoric sensations and a lack of inhibition.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “GHB has been used in the commission of sexual assaults because it renders the victim incapable of resisting, and may cause memory problems that could complicate case prosecution.”
Oliver also said a new substance known as GBL (gamma butyrolactone) is also showing up in the county. He said GBL, not yet listed as a controlled substance, is a clear, oily liquid that often has a brown stained tint.
According to the Project GHB organization, GBL is a precursor to GHB and is essentially floor stripper mixed with drain cleaner. It turns to GHB when metabolized in the body.
“We’ve got to be looking for something new all the time,” Oliver said.
Oliver said GBL is becoming popular with drug users ranging in age from 20 to 45 years old.
“They buy it by the bottle or capful just like GHB,” he said.
Oliver said the Sheriff’s Department is working with other local agencies to stem the flow of drugs into the county and that cooperation between agencies is important, as is the support of his own department.
“It’s good to work for a department that gives you the funds and equipment to do the job,” he said.
