Former Rare Staff
A Philadelphia 17-year-old student is facing drug charges after he was caught trying to smuggle hundreds of bags of heroin into his school, police say.
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Police insist the teenager stashed 650 packets of heroin as well as $400 cash into his backpack and tried to waltz on into Olney Charter High School on Wednesday unnoticed. Needless to say, his plan was unsuccessful.
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The teenager’s plot was foiled by school officials when school security scanners registered his bag’s contents as it went through the machine. The officials then took a quick look inside and discovered the copious amount of drugs and cash.
According to authorities, the packets of heroin had a total street value of $6,600. The incident is not the first time the teen in question has been slapped with drug charges, as police indicated that he was previously arrested in a separate, unrelated case.
The 17-year-old’s arrest came just a day before President Trump declared the nation’s growing opioid epidemic a national emergency on Thursday. While delivering his remarks on the matter, the president referred to the crisis as a “national shame” and a “human tragedy” and pledged, “We are going to overcome addiction in America.”
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