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