NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer says the Drug Enforcement Agency will station a special heroin enforcement team on Long Island.
The New York Democrat said Friday the team of two new DEA agents and two officers from an existing task force will focus on fighting heroin and fentanyl trafficking.
The team is among six being formed nationwide with $12.5 million in federal funding. Other teams will be in Charleston, South Carolina; Cleveland; Cincinnati; New Bedford, Massachusetts and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Schumer said the New York team will help police on Long Island and in New York City.
The senator said the opioid epidemic has hit Long Island especially hard, with 385 opioid overdose deaths tallied by state health officials in 2015.
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