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Suspected Heroin Worth $700,000 Seized At Border
Cache Found In Vechicle Gas Tank

POSTED: 10:48 am PDT August 17, 2006
UPDATED: 1:25 pm PDT August 17, 2006




SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- About 38 pounds of heroin valued at $700,000 was seized when a woman allegedly tried to smuggle the drugs across the Mexican border in her vehicle's gas tank, officials announced Thursday.

The suspect, a 33-year-old Mexican national from Tijuana, was arrested Tuesday and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await arraignment, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

The woman was in a Nissan Xterra around 1:30 p.m., waiting in line to cross the U.S.-Mexico border from Tijuana at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, when agents noticed "irregularities" in the undercarriage of the sport utility vehicle, CBP information officer Vince Bond said.

After escorting the Xterra to a lot for further investigation, inspectors discovered 11 hidden packages of suspected black tar heroin, wrapped in cellophane, Bond said.