Three Ripley County men are in custody following a drug probe.

Ripley County Sheriff Tom Grills says deputies seized heroin and drug paraphenalia from a home Saturday night. Authorities arrested 24-year-old Daniel Withered of Pierceville, 23-year-old Russell Steinhauer of Versailles and 23-year-old Christopher Thompson of Milan. Withered was arrested on charges of Possession and Dealing Narcotics and Steinhauer and Thompson for Visiting a Common Nuisance. They were being held in the Ripley County Jail.

Sheriff Grills says the arrests are the latest in a series of incidents involving heroin in Ripley County. He says burglaries and other crime in the county are almost always traced back to heroin. Grills says heroin incidents rose right after state lawmakers passed legislation that made it more difficult to buy cold medicine and other materials needed to make methamphetamine. Grills says more residents are beginning to report incidents of drug abuse in the county. He believes people may be getting tired of crime and drugs in their neighborhoods, but adds authorities still need input from residents to truly combat the problem.