Federal border agents say the weekend search of a vehicle attempting to enter the U.S. has resulted in one of the largest seizures of heroin ever recorded at the El Paso checkpoint.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found more than 35 pounds of the drug in a SUV Saturday. The street value of the heroin is about $1.1 million.
By comparison, El Paso CBP seized 60 pounds of heroin in all of 2012 and seven pounds the year before.
Packages were found in a compartment above the SUV's fuel tank. A drug-sniffing dog detected the heroin and an X-ray scan revealed alterations to the area of the fuel tank. The driver, 21-year-old Jesus Antonio Gonzalez of Juárez, Mexico, was arrested on drug smuggling charges.
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Information from: El Paso Times, http://www.elpasotimes.com
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