California sees rise in heroin use, busts

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted: July 31, 2009 at 5:36 a.m.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Recent large heroin seizures show a resurgence of the drug in California unseen since the early 1970s, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The flood of black tar heroin into the San Francisco area has driven down prices from as much as $500 an ounce to about $140 an ounce, acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown said in Sacramento while announcing the latest drug ring takedown.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted 21 Mexican and American citizens on charges of smuggling at least 440 pounds of heroin grown in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, through Tijuana to Modesto, in California's Central Valley.

From there, it was shipped to wholesalers throughout the San Francisco area. Prosecutors said one East Palo Alto-based wholesaler supplied hundreds of customers, using runners equipped with cars and cell phones to make deliveries.

The federal indictment followed last week's arrest by state drug agents of a Mexican national accused of concealing 70 pounds of heroin in a secret compartment in the dashboard of his Lincoln Town Car.

The heroin seizure was the largest ever in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco, state Attorney General Jerry Brown said.

In April, Brown's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement arrested another Mexican citizen with 95 pounds of heroin hidden in the wheel well of his sports utility vehicle. That seizure was in Anaheim.

San Mateo County District Attorney James Fox said the busts appear unrelated but show a surge in heroin use not seen in 40 years.

Front Section, Pages 7 on 07/31/2009

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