Hidden From Heroin's History: Heroin Use and Dealing Within an English Asian Community, A Case Study (From Illegal Drug Markets: From Research to Prevention Policy, P 153-177, 2000, Mangai Natarajan and Mike Hough, eds. -- See NCJ-187694)

• NCJ Number: 187701
• Author(s): Shakeel Akhtar; Nigel South
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 25 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Collected Work
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC. Crime Prevention Studies, Volume 11.

Annotation

Heroin use and dealing within the English Asian community have received little research attention, although the involvement of Asian entrepreneurs in drug trafficking groups has been documented.

Abstract

The current case study involved a South Asian community in northwest England. An effort was made to determine how a heroin distribution network developed by focusing on a key individual who sponsored heroin dealing enterprises and attempted to ensure they operated within terms and boundaries negotiated by him and did not emerge as independent competitors. Friendships and kinship facilitated such sponsorship and negotiation. Subsequent suspicion, competition, and conflict led to fragmentation of networks. The result of interpersonal conflict and breakdown of trust was increased vulnerable to enforcement attention. It was also found that there has been a "hidden history" of heroin use and dealing within some ethnic minority communities in England and that lack of recognition of this has implications for prevention and services. The authors discuss heroin use and dealing in the context of street culture and socioeconomic life and recount the experiences of specific heroin dealers. They consider the policy implications of fragmenting drug markets, social capital, and institutional racism. 45 references and 22 notes