Pubdate: Thu, 10 June 1999 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/ Author: Bill Wallace, Chronicle Staff Writer S.F. MAN HELD FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING Informant's Tip Led To Arrest Of Alleged Courier For Heroin Ring An informant's tip has resulted in federal drug trafficking charges against a 19-year-old San Francisco man who allegedly worked as a drug courier for a black tar heroin ring. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Friday charges Francisco Birrueta with possessing more than 100 grams of heroin for sale. Birrueta, who was arrested in San Francisco in late March carrying nearly two pounds of black tar heroin ready for sale in golf-ball-shaped blobs, is a deportee who allegedly re-entered the United States unlawfully. He is scheduled to appear before federal Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman in connection with the charges on Monday. If convicted, Birrueta could receive a 10-year-to-life prison sentence and be fined up to $4 million. According to an affidavit by San Francisco Police Inspector Dean Marcic that was filed with the federal charges, Birrueta was arrested by San Francisco narcotics officers investigating an informer's tip that a man driving a blue compact car with a specific California license plate number was peddling heroin in San Francisco's Mission District. When investigators checked into the tip, they spotted a car that matched the informant's description near 14th and Folsom streets. Narcotics officers followed the car and saw a pedestrian get in a couple of blocks away. They watched as the driver and passenger appeared to engage in a narcotics transaction. When the passenger got out of the vehicle near Duboce and Folsom streets, he was arrested carrying a plastic bag containing seven grams of heroin that he admitted buying from the blue car's driver. Investigators later identified the buyer as Javier Aparacio, a San Francisco resident with five prior drug arrests and two convictions, according to the affidavit. Meanwhile, another group of investigators continued to follow the blue compact, and pulled the driver over a short distance from Mission Police Station on Valencia Street. The driver of the vehicle was Birrueta, who was allegedly holding a plastic bag with more than 20 grams of heroin in his hand and had another 780 grams of the drug -- rolled into salable balls -- in a white plastic bag under his seat. In addition to the drugs, officers allegedly found $2,310 in cash, the apparent revenue from previous drug transactions, in Birrueta's jacket pocket. During an interview at Mission Station, Aparacio told officers that he had phoned a contact seeking heroin for sale and had been told to meet the driver of the car at 12th and Folsom streets, the affidavit said. He admitted purchasing a quarter-ounce of the drug from Birrueta for $150. Birrueta refused to talk with investigators. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D