Source: Dallas Morning News Contact: Pubdate: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Discussion forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com/dallas RAID OF HEROIN RING LEADS TO FIVE ARRESTS Task Force Says Suspects Supplied Mexican Drug For Sale In Plano By Linda Stewart Ball / The Dallas Morning News PLANO A multiagency drug task force has cut off a major supply of Mexican blacktar heroin to the Plano area by arresting the leader and several members of a small drug ring, authorities said Wednesday. After a twomonth investigation by Plano police and federal agents, five undocumented immigrants from Mexico were arrested in a Sunday raid in McKinney. It was the biggest operation for the task force, which includes Plano police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Dallas police and state and federal prosecutors. McKinney police and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service also assisted in the Sunday raid. Authorities seized about 28 ounces of heroin with an estimated street value of $195,000, a halfpound of cocaine, more than $29,000 in cash and three firearms, including an AR15 assault rifle. They displayed the items during a morning news conference at Plano police headquarters. Arrested on a variety of federal and state charges, including manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance, were Ecliserio Martinez, 37; Irma Lopez Vega, 25; Jose Antonio Contreras, 21; Macruz Baldovin Pineda, also known as Maria Cruz VergaraBaldovinos, 25; and her husband, Salvador Pineda, 26. All were being held in the Collin County Jail on federal immigration detainers, federal authorities said. Authorities said Mr. Martinez was the group's leader. He is from Guerrero, Mexico, which authorities described as a key production site for heroin flowing into the United States. Mr. Martinez's ring had been operating for some time in Plano and the surrounding area, officials said. "Severing this direct link between Mexico heroin and Plano will significantly impact the availability of heroin in this area," Plano Police Chief Bruce Glasscock said. He also warned parents not to drop their guard. "Parents still need to be aware of the dangers that exist," he said, noting that a lack of affordable drug treatment centers contributes to the problem. Since 1996, at least 11 youths with Plano ties have died from heroin overdoses. Because Mr. Martinez is considered the primary source for area street dealers, his arrest will make it more difficult for young heroin addicts to find the drug, police said. In an 80day period, he handled what amounts to 440 capsules of heroin with an average street value of $4,400, the task force investigation revealed. The Sunday seizure in McKinney removed another 19,500 capsules of heroin from the street. An individual could use up to six capsules a day. Authorities declined to state the exact location or details of the raid because the investigation is still ongoing. The heroin they sold was extremely potent, about 75 percent pure, said Michael Vigil, assistant special agent in charge at the DEA's Dallas field office. Heroin is usually sold in purity levels between 3 and 7 percent, he said. "Even if the intermediaries were to cut it once, you're still talking about 37 percent pure," he said. "For kids that have not developed a high tolerance to this type of drug, it means tremendous" overdoses. Heroin made its lethal entry into the Plano area about two years ago, authorities say. The Heroin Task Force was created in September as part of an aggressive enforcement effort to turn the tide. Before Sunday's raid, the task force had made 31 arrests and seized nearly 2.5 pounds of heroin, with a street value of about $200,000. "What makes this bust different is he [Mr. Martinez] is the supplier to the streetlevel supplier," Chief Glasscock said. "We characterize it as going up the food chain as far as we can go. ... In this particular community and in Collin County, we have eliminated the food source to the street supplier." Because the heroin in the Plano area comes directly from Mexico, Chief Glasscock blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he referred to in jest as the "North American Free Trafficking Agreement." "The Mexican cartel and the organized crime in Mexico started buying into legitimate transportation businesses, and that heroin is being transported into this country, not only by air and boat but through" legitimate transportation means, he said. "I don't think it's coincidental that the Dallas area started seeing significant increases in heroin availability about the time that NAFTA went through," he said. McKinney Police Chief Larry Robinson said he had no idea whether NAFTA played a role but said he does believe heroin dealers created the demand for the drug in Collin County. "They came up to an area that's very affluent; there's a lot of money here, and they are profitoriented," Chief Robinson said. "It's a business. They knew the money is here so they targeted us. ... No community is immune to drug trafficking." Nonetheless, several Collin County residents said news of the arrests gave them one more thing to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. "I used for two years, and that's the best thing I've heard all year," said Corey Blair, 20, of Frisco. "That's just made my holiday."