Federal prosecutors claim David McMichel, 31, led the trafficking operation from his west-side Jackson Street residence, all while serving out the remainder of a prison sentence on home detention stemming from a third felony conviction.

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly and Fifth District Congresswoman Susan Brooks want to create a federal drug task force that can work with Gov. Mike Pence's newly-created state-level drug abuse task force to help address the heroin crisis gripping the state and the nation.

From 2003 to 2013 - the most recent year for which data is available - the number of heroin overdose deaths in Indiana grew from three to 152.

Parts of Indiana have witnessed an increasing number of heroin overdoses in recent months. The CDC says overdose deaths have increased nearly 300 percent.