Police announce arrests linked to Woodland Park heroin ring

The Woodland Park Police Department says ten people have been arrested and 25 others are under investigation in connection to a heroin ring.

The most recent arrest happened Thursday. Police say Ian Forbes, 20, of Divide faces a felony drug charge.

The investigation began in the fall of 2015 when the department noticed an uptick in reports of heroin use.

“From what I gather from the metro VNI unit, heroin is a growing problem everywhere nationwide. In fact, there is an effort that many law enforcement agencies are working towards which is trying to stop the overdoes on heroin,” said Comamnder Jim Halloran with Woodland Park Police.

Police say four primary heroin dealers have been identified in the Woodland Park area and that they have been linked to major suppliers.

Woodland Park Police say the investigation is being conducted in cooperation with Metro Vice and Narcotics, which is made up of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Fountain Police Department and the Woodland Park Police Department.

“I think what made it successful is the work of the detectives. They are actually going out and trying very hard to come up with information. Cooperation with agencies feeding detectives information I believe is what led to a successful investigation,” said Halloran.