see also: in September 2003:   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nabs Three Sisters Smuggling Cocaine, Heroin   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Names Directors of 78 Major Ports Nationwide   CBP Inspectors Seize $268,936 in Eagle Pass; Husband, Wife Arrested   CBP Inspectors Find Heroin in Teddy Bear   CBP Signs $500 Million Contract With Chenega Technology Services Corporation   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Dedicates New Office Space in Newark, New Jersey ...more on cbp.gov:   Press Officers   CBP News Releases

contacts for this news release

EL PASO, TX--U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors working at the El Paso port of entry seized a record 87.4 pounds of heroin Sunday night. The seizure breaks the previous record of 60.8 pounds which was made just days earlier on September 4, 2003. The estimated street value of the Sunday seizure is just under $6 million. In a smaller yet unusual case, El Paso CBP inspectors discovered a half-pound of heroin in a teddy bear on September 8. Before the two large September seizures, the previous heroin seizure record for the El Paso port was believed to be a 38-pound bust made in the 1980s

The Sunday night seizure was made at the Paso Del Norte port of entry. CBP officers were screening vehicles waiting to approach the primary inspection area when CBP drug sniffing dog "Meta" alerted to a 2003 Nissan Frontier. CBP officers escorted the vehicle to the secondary inspection and discovered a false wall in the front bed of the pickup. Inspectors opened a hidden compartment between the false wall and bed of the pickup and discovered 49 packages wrapped in black electric tape. Samples from the bundles tested positive for heroin. The packages contained 87.4 pounds of the drug.

"Heroin is a devastating drug and I am proud that our officers have been able to intercept almost 150 pounds of this deadly product in recent days," said Luis Garcia, Director of the El Paso field office for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "The vigilance and attention to detail demonstrated in three different heroin seizure scenarios proves that our officers are committed to protecting the American public from any threat they may encounter at the border."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agents arrested the driver of the vehicle. He is 43-year-old Miguel Hernandez of Chihuahua City, Mexico. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in El Paso today and will be charge with importation of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. ICE is continuing its investigation at this time.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security that unifies U.S. Customs, Immigration and Agriculture inspectors and the Border Patrol.