Police say 25 students involved in heroin use

At least 25 Cheyenne Mountain High School students have been involved in some level of heroin use, police learned while investigating a drug ring catering to students from one of Colorado Springs' wealthiest districts.

The black-tar heroin was supplied by former Cheyenne Mountain students and Mexican nationals, and the teens either smoked or injected the drug, Colorado Springs police spokesman Lt. David Whitlock said.

"We did see both smoking and injecting as the methods that were used," Whitlock said.

So far, only people suspected of dealing the drug have been arrested. Police won't say how many or disclose their names, saying the information could disrupt an investigation that began in October.

No current students have been arrested, police said.

Black-tar heroin - a sticky substance resembling road tar - is typically grown and refined in Mexico, said Sam Waite, the resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Colorado Springs.

Drug runners use false compartments in their vehicles to smuggle the drug across the border and drive it into Colorado via Interstate 25. Denver and Colorado Springs have been used as regional distribution hubs, Waite said.

Police began investigating in October after a routine sweep by a drug-sniffing dog found Xanax in a student's locker. That teen told authorities that heroin was commonly used by classmates, said Cheyenne Mountain School District Superintendent Walt Cooper.

"All I know is that it happened off-campus, and typically in the evenings," Cooper said.

Cooper said that about 25 seniors and juniors admitted to using the drug, saying they smoked it or inhaled it. None of them admitted to injecting heroin, Cooper said. He said he was "not aware" of freshmen or sophomores using the drug.

Because there is no evidence of drug use on school grounds, the students likely will not face discipline from the school district, and the investigation is being handled by police.

Under school policy, students found intoxicated at school face a mandatory one-week suspension for a first offense and could be expelled for a year for a second violation.

Before this investigation, school officials say they had dealt this year with only alcohol and marijuana use, Cooper said.

Every year, the school hires Accurate Detection Canines of Moulton, Texas, to supply a dog and its handler for four to five random drug sweeps at District 12 middle and high schools. The company is paid $650 a day.

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Contact the writer: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com