Doña Ana County teens accused in heroin smuggling

By Ashley Meeks
Las Cruces Sun-News
11/25/2009

EL PASO -- Two Doña Ana County teens could face life in prison after El Paso border agents stopped them from bringing almost 30 pounds of heroin into the country from Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

Juan Carlos Martinez of Chaparral and Perla A. Ortiz, of Anthony, N.M., both 18, were arrested after drug-sniffing dog Outlaw alerted agents to the floor of their 1999 Mercury Cougar at the Paso del Norte Bridge in Downtown El Paso.

Hidden compartments under both front seats revealed 12 black bundles -- some adorned with stickers of pink flowers and Mickey and Minnie Mouse -- that contained white powder, one of which tested positive for heroin.

The largest heroin bust ever at an El Paso border crossing is believed to be an 87.4-pound seizure in September 2003.

The amount seized Monday is about two-thirds of the total amount of heroin, 44 pounds, CBP officers have seized at the crossing in the past two years, said Ana Hinojosa, director of field operations in El Paso, who called Monday's bust "an exceptionally important seizure."

Martinez and Ortiz were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents.

Border Patrol Chief Ruben Jauregui said the two, who will be federally prosecuted for charges of importing and possessing drugs with the intent to distribute, are both U.S. citizens.

Gadsden Independent School District officials were not immediately available to comment on Ortiz's student status, but Chaparral High School Principal J.D. Diggs said Martinez was not one of his students.

Lab results have not yet determined the purity of the heroin seized Monday, but Jauregui said it was more refined than the paste-like brown or black tar usually seized in the sector.

The teens face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison but could get a maximum sentence of life in prison, DEA Agent Diana Apodaca said.

White heroin, about 80 percent pure and in the amount seized Monday, could sell for between $300,000 and $340,000 in El Paso or Albuquerque but could easily fetch several million dollars farther away in a city like New York, Apodaca said.

Ashley Meeks can be reached at ameeks@lcsun-news.com; 575-541-5462

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