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Heroin: From Prescription To Addiction (Part 8)

BOSTON (CBS) - Members of law enforcement agree that you cannot "arrest your way out" of the current drug addiction epidemic, but they will still take "the wins" when they can.

You've seen the TV version of a drug raid countless times. Brockton Police Lt. Paul Bonanca outlined the real thing at a news conference back in March.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports

Heroin: From Prescription To Addiction (Part 8)

"Two individuals were placed in custody. Seized, as a result of the investigation, was more than a half a kilo of cocaine," Bonanca said.

But nabbing suspected drug traffickers takes months, if not years, of investigation.

"We just got a conviction on a Dominican drug trafficker. I had been working on him since 2005," said Scituate Police Chief Mike Stewart.

Read More: Heroin From Prescription To Addiction

Scituate Police Chief Mike Stewart says that even when Maximo Laryi was in jail awaiting trial, he remained a player.

"We were doing undercover buys from his organization with him running the show," Chief Stewart says.

Laryi is now serving a 22-year sentence, but too many times, law enforcement is swimming against the tide.

Among the successes, was putting a lid on Florida's overgrowth of pain management centers or so-called "pill mills."

"Now we had a guy from Scituate who was making three trips a month on JetBlue and he was shipping back anywhere from three to four packages with 500 pills apiece," Chief Stewart said.

Ashland Police Chief Craig Davis is quick to point out that if you think the drug trade doesn't affect you, think again.

"Breaking and entries, robberies, people are being robbed of their jewelry and generally the underlying theme that we see in people that are associated with those crimes is drug addiction of some form," Chief Davis says.

By Scituate Police Chief Stewart's calculation, 90 percent of his department's resources are spent on cases where the nexus is drugs.

His message to the perpetrators who are addicts?

"If you need help come through our front door and ask for it. If you end up coming through the back door in custody, it's a much more difficult process."

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