Something’s Fishy; 9 Held for Drugs

Federal agents say they arrested nine men who allegedly tried to smuggle 7 pounds of Asian heroin from China into the United States by hiding it in dead goldfish.

The heroin was placed in condoms and sewn into the fish, which were then placed into boxes of live fish being shipped to San Francisco, said Cornelius Dougherty, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The arrests followed the first cooperative drug investigation involving the United States and China.

Three men were arrested in San Francisco, five in China and one in Hong Kong, the agency said Wednesday.

On March 9, authorities in China spotted boxes of fish containing heroin. The shipment was destined for a business called the Goldfish Aquarium here. DEA and U.S. Customs Service agents were alerted, and authorities seized the heroin in China.

Authorities then replaced some of the heroin and shipped the fish on to the United States under the watchful eyes of U.S. and Chinese agents.

The shipment was placed in a cargo area after arriving in San Francisco and after investigators attached transponders that allowed agents to track the boxes. Two men picked up the boxes and delivered them to the aquarium business where agents arrested three men last Friday after getting a signal that the boxes had been opened.

The DEA reported finding a machine pistol, four other handguns, some cocaine and $23,000 in cash in the bedroom of a man identified as a principal in the aquarium business.

The 7 pounds of heroin, which is believed to be pure, is worth up to $700,000 wholesale, according to Tom Sheehan, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA’s San Francisco office.

Authorities identified the three arrested here as William Mui, 35, Albert Tam, 27, and Sam Lee, 29. They were charged with possessing heroin with intent to distribute, and with conspiracy, punishable by 10 years to life in prison, the DEA said.