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[DULUTH, MN] The Duluth Police Department will host a press conference today at 1:00 PM at the Public Safety Building in the front training room to share the following:

On May 30, 2019, Investigators from the Duluth Police Department and the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force simultaneously executed search warrants at an apartment in the 1500 block of Kenwood Ave and a hotel room in the 200 block of W. 1^st St. in the City of Duluth.

The warrants were the result of a two-month long investigation into a drug trafficking organization with suspected sales of heroin in the region.

During the searches, investigators recovered approximately 4.3 pounds of heroin, a half-pound of cocaine, a loaded firearm and $94,623 in U.S. currency.

The heroin has an estimated street value of $350,000. This seizure of heroin is the largest amount in history for the Duluth Police Department and the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

“Our Duluth Police Department is constantly conducting excellent work in investigating these incidents and I support and thank them for what they do,” stated Mayor Emily Larson. "As we all know, we cannot arrest our way out of these problems, and I am proud that our team, and our community, has invested in outreach, education, and treatment resources to get people suffering addiction what they need. I stand with our entire community in our shared commitment to continue to tackle this problem head on.”

The search also resulted in the arrests of two suspects:

Otis Jason Weaver, 39, was arrested and lodged at the St. Louis County jail for Aggravated 1^st Degree Sale of a Controlled Substance.

Eric Antione Black, 36, was arrested and lodged at the St. Louis County jail for Aggravated 1^st Degree Sale of a Controlled Substance and a felon in possession of a firearm. At the time of his arrest, Eric Black was out on bail for a 1^st Degree Murder charge out of Chicago, Illinois. Investigators are in contact with Chicago Police with this information as the investigation continues.

Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said, “the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force is an essential piece to our holistic approach to solving Duluth’s drug problem. Because of their expert investigations and relentless work, the LSDVCTF is removing the poisons from our streets that are peddled to our citizens. We’re spending a tremendous amount of effort in going after those who sell those poisons to remove the supply from our community. Every day I am proud of the work our team accomplishes.

Additionally, we recognize that users are not criminals," Tusken continued, "we remain dedicated to removing the demand for these drugs by empowering those addicted to connect to the resources that can help them recover. Every day I am proud of the work our team accomplishes.

Due to the high volume of opioids intercepted in this case, we believe this will greatly affect those suffering from addiction. We encourage those looking for an alternative to substance abuse to contact our Opioid Response Team Hotline. 218-730-4009. Help will be provided.

The case has been forwarded to the St. Louis County Attorney for consideration of charges.

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