Suitcase filled with heroin found in Pittsburgh neighborhood, police say

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- An investigation is underway after a suitcase filled with heroin was found in a Pittsburgh neighborhood.

It's likely the largest seizure of suspected heroin in the history of the city — reportedly discovered by a woman walking her dog — but police don't know who it belongs to.

Pittsburgh police said plainclothes detectives were called to the area of Glenrose Street in the Fineview neighborhood on Wednesday after a citizen stumbled upon a suitcase filled with suspected drugs.

When police got there, they found the suitcase, which was filled with what they believed to be bricks of heroin. A backpack was also found nearby, containing heroin that was similarly packaged.

K-9 officers were called to search the area. One of the dogs indicated that both the suitcase and the backpack contained narcotics, police said.

In total, investigators counted 4,688 bricks of heroin in the suitcase and backpacks, with an estimated street value of more than $2 million. Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said it's the largest seizure he's seen, and he's been with the department since the 90s.

But just who owns the suitcase and backpack is a mystery, as is how they could be abandoned in somewhat plain sight off a city sidewalk. But Scirotto says police aim to find out.

"We will do a thorough investigation utilizing all of our assets," he said.

Sources said the woman who spotted the suitcase had noticed it stashed in the bushes for a week or more before she finally decided to contact police. That it had been there that long only adds to the mystery, but it's not likely that anyone will be stepping forward to claim it.

"It's at the lost and found in Zone 1," Scirotto said with a smile.

Police will be very interested in determining the owner of the suitcase but since nobody's talking this largest seizure of heroin wil likely remain a mystery for some time to come.