Police arrested two New Canaan men on drug charges Thursday after finding heroin on them during a motor vehicle stop on Route 123.
At about 5 p.m., New Canaan Police Sgt. Joseph Farenga spotted a suspicious vehicle on New Norwalk Road near Old Norwalk Road, according to a press release issued Friday by Chief Leon Krolikowski.
Farenga knew that the driver, an 18-year-old Jelliff Mill Road resident, had a suspended driver’s license.
“Sergeant Farenga stopped the suspect vehicle and determined that the operator of the vehicle had a suspended license and was likely under the influence of a narcotic,” the chief said. “Subsequently, a search of the suspect vehicle uncovered a quantity of heroin. Hypodermic needles were also found during the search.”
The 18-year-old and passenger in the car, a 20-year-old Carter Street resident, each were charged with possession of narcotics (heroin) and possession of drug paraphernalia (hypodermic needles). The teen additionally was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under suspension.
Heroin is an increasingly prevalent problem in New Canaan and nearly every other community in Connecticut and the Northeast, officials have said. Police and human services providers say that in New Canaan, heroin use typically starts when kids start experimenting with opioids such as prescription painkillers that they find in their parents’ medicine cabinets. There’s a prescription drug drop-off box located permanently inside the New Canaan Police Department headquarters. Here’s an article that lists local resources.
Heroin is everywhere. It does not discriminate race, or socio-economic status.