TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - A Lucas County judge sentenced a Toledo heroin dealer to 30 years in a federal prison.
Lee Turner admitted to distributing between three to ten kilograms of heroin laced with Fentanyl.
Authorities who worked hard to bring Turner to justice say they hope the sentencing sends a message to other heroin dealers in Lucas County.
"I think it sends a clear message to a lot of the dealers that the justice system is not playing around," said Lt. Bobby Chromik of Lucas County DART.
Despite the big win in the fight against the heroin epidemic, law enforcement still faces a tough battle against local drug dealers.
"The bigger problem [is] they are selling this stuff so quickly that when the officers do get them they have nothing on them," Chromik said.
That problem is forcing law enforcement agencies like DART and the Toledo Metro Drug Task Force to spend months gathering evidence against suspect dealers. Their hope is to cut down the supply of heroin in Toledo as well as scare off other dealers in the area.