Portsmouth arrests follow increased use of crack cocaine on Seacoast

Of the five people arrested in Portsmouth during two recent crack busts within nine hours of each other, none were from New Hampshire. Four people arrested on the afternoon of Saturday, May 24, all lived in Massachusetts, with two coming from Boston, one from Dorchester and one from Mattapan. A 27-year-old man arrested early the following morning came all the way from Hartford, Conn.

According to police, the suspects in both cases came to Portsmouth with the intention of distributing crack cocaine. The two arrests came amid a crackdown on illicit drug sales being enforced by Portsmouth detectives and surrounding police departments in reaction to a marked increase in crack use on the Seacoast.

According to Portsmouth Police Capt. Janet Champlin, the influx of crack dealers from Massachusetts and other states illustrates a simple scenario of supply and demand: dealers in Massachusetts have it, and users on the Seacoast want it.
“We are seeing an increase in sales of crack cocaine in our area, in Portsmouth in particular and in the Seacoast. It’s available, it’s easy to make and dealers can sell it at a profit,” Champlin said.

At about 4:30 p.m. on May 24, members of the Portsmouth Police Department’s special investigations unit and patrol officers arrested four people in a parking lot on Woodbury Avenue. One of the suspects, 20-year-old Moses Ehiabhi, allegedly resisted arrest, injuring two detectives, and had to be subdued with a Taser. Police seized $600 worth of crack and $400 cash from the suspects’ vehicle. Because two young children were present in the car, two suspects were charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

At about 1 a.m. on May 25, police made another arrest, this time taking 27-year-old Bobby Hemingway into custody. Officers seized more than $1,800 worth of crack and $1,180 cash. Hemingway was charged with sale of a narcotic drug and possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute.

The two cases combined account for well over $2,000 worth of crack.

“These particular arrests were targeting people who were coming into Portsmouth selling crack cocaine that was going to be distributed in our communities here,” Champlin said. “The dealers are coming up from Massachusetts and they are selling crack cocaine here to increase profit.” 

According to Champlin, the typical street price for crack is about $100 per gram in Portsmouth. Part of the problem is that Seacoast communities have become increasingly affluent, and dealers from other states know they can turn a bigger profit by crossing the border into southern New Hampshire and Maine, where supply is scarce and demand is high. Equipped with a seaport, an airport, a major traffic circle and nearby borders to two other states, Portsmouth is ideally situated for dealers.

“We really are a hub for the Seacoast area. It has always traditionally attracted drug dealers and it will continue to do so, and we’re just dedicated to combating it,” Champlin said.

The increase in crack abuse seems to be confined largely to the southern part of the state, according to N.H. State Police Sgt. Ellen Arcieri. Across most of the rest of the state, crack use has remained relatively static.

“It’s about status quo from what we’ve seen,” Arcieri said. “If anything, as far as the dealers go, it’s kind of been a decrease because they know the harsh federal penalties.”

Until recently, selling five grams of crack carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. Last fall, the Supreme Court ruled that judges were not bound by that guideline, but the penalties are still significant.

Detectives in Portsmouth have been working with police in York and Kittery, Maine, as well as the Drug Enforcement Agency and the N.H. Drug Task Force, to stem the flow of crack into the area. York Police Chief Doug Bracy said the drugs typically come from Mass. cities like Lawrence, Lowell and Haverhill. He considers increased crack use in York an unfortunate side effect of the community’s otherwise positive growth. The drug has become increasingly accessible, he said.

“Unfortunately, part of the trend is that those that deal in drugs have migrated to the area with it. It isn’t just York, it’s the Seacoast in general,” Bracy said.

About five years ago, heroin was the biggest concern in York. Just like then, police have been on the alert for crimes associated with consumption of hard drugs, such as armed robberies, home invasions and organized shoplifting gangs. With the nation’s economy on a downward slide, users could begin committing more desperate crimes to finance their habits.

“Crack and heroin and harder drugs tend to raise our alertness and our alarm because along with them comes more violence and more crime,” Bracy said. “Southern New Hampshire and southern Maine definitely have a problem, and it’s driven by the economies in these towns and the desires for these types of drugs.”

York police arrested two people for possession of crack in March, including a high school senior. Bracy said drug trends tend to follow generational patterns. In the 1970s, he said, acid was causing serious problems in communities. More recently, heroin became the drug of choice, and now crack use is on the rise. Bracy noted that both crack and heroin are highly addictive, and the potency of both has increased over the years.

“Most of these substances, whether it’s crack or heroin, the levels of purity in them have tended to increase,” Bracy said. “They tend to mix them with other drugs sometimes, and that makes them more addictive.”

Another trend in both Maine and New Hampshire is an increase in the use of prescription drugs. While hard drugs are not as prevalent in Portsmouth now as they were in the mid-1990s, Champlin said, prescription pills for pain treatment like methadone, OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet have become increasingly popular. The pills are easy to conceal and can often be obtained through legal avenues. But police are cracking down on the illicit trade of prescription drugs, Champlin said.

They’re also cracking down on crack, and arrests are just one part of the solution. Portsmouth Police Chief Michael Magnant noted that users who live on the Seacoast travel down to Massachusetts just as often as dealers from states to the south travel up to New Hampshire and Maine.

“It’s been my experience that it’s always there,” Magnant said. “We have a population of hardcore addicts who use crack cocaine and heroin, and they’re responsible for a lot of the thefts and property crimes we see in the community.”

Part of the solution is getting addicts the treatment they need. Champlin noted that a methadone clinic opened in Newington a few years ago, which indicates that there is a high concentration of drug addicts in the area.

The recent upswing in crack use could be attributed to a number of factors. Champlin said availability and price are the two driving factors that lead to spikes in the use of particular drugs. Bracy pointed to similar factors and said tough economic times accentuate the problem. Magnant agreed that dealers are drawn to the area because they are able to satisfy demand in a region with traditionally low supply. Although it is traditionally a cheap drug, crack dealers can charge high prices on the Seacoast.

“It’s my understanding that, for whatever reason, people who are addicted to crack are willing to pay a premium price for it and, a lot of times, some of the dealers have an entrepreneurial spirit.”

With the recent arrests, police are trying to make the Seacoast appear less attractive to drug dealers. “We’re trying to send the message loud and clear to the drug dealers and users that Portsmouth is not an open market,” Champlin said. “We have many active investigations and we anticipate there will be more arrests.”

To catch dealers, local police rely largely on tips from the public. People can report tips anonymously by calling Seacoast Crime Stoppers at 603-431-1199 or 207-439-1199, or by visiting www.seacoastcrimestoppers.org. Rewards are available for tips leading to arrests and convictions.

“We continue to see a drug problem in our community. It’s a problem that is not going away. We are dedicating enforcement efforts to it, but we know that arresting people is not the only solution,” Champlin said. “We really need the public’s help.”

Arcieri said state police are also working to make arrests and seizures of crack, but their success is dependent on resources, personnel and funding. Asked if current levels of resources are adequate for combating drugs, she said, “We could always use more. It’s never enough.”