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SHREWSBURY, Mass.—Everything seemed to be business as usual at local heroin supplier Heroin Depot, but on Tuesday it was exposed to be a cover for a rampant underground shoe repair operation.

Residents of Shrewsbury were shocked this week to hear the place they trusted to provide them with quality recreational opiate was nothing more than a shameless disguise to conceal a shoe repair business. “It’s hard to even comprehend,” said Heroin Depot regular Joe Malther. “It is scary to think about it. I took my kids in there, and what if something had happened?”

That sentiment was echoed by Melissa Sparning, a Shrewsbury resident who often stopped at Heroin Depot on her way home after picking her daughter up from day care. “I never would have guessed it. To think I would go in there so often for just a quick half injection of big H and think nothing of it. I had no idea I was putting myself and my daughter so close to shoe repair.”

Officials uncovered the secret outfit when undercover police visited several local stores in an attempt to solicit shoe repair. “It’s rare that we find such a large operation,” said Sgt. Max Roscoe. “Usually it’s just a few pairs that need something simple, like a cleaning or new laces. But this place was a big production. They had broken heels, ripped seems, you name it. I have never seen so many damaged shoes in one place in my 14 years on the force.”

Owners of Heroin Depot, Wallace and Cindy Trotter, did not return phone calls, but sources close to the family say the couple have been repairing shoes since opening the store. “They were repairing those shoes out of the back that whole time,” said one family member speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Those customers thought they were just getting an honest dose of skag. That place must have had at least 10,000 pounds of shoes go through it every month.”

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