SAN CLEMENTE : Potent Heroin Seized at Immigration Stop

Two Mexican nationals were arrested Friday after U.S. Border Patrol agents said they found three pounds of high-grade black tar heroin worth $226,800 during a search of their car at the immigration checkpoint on Interstate 5.

Jose Gonzales-Fernandez, 29, and Francisco Maldonado-Gudino, 19, both of the Mexican state of Michoacan, were being held in the federal Metropolitan Correction Center in San Diego on drug charges, authorities said.

The suspects, who were in the country legally, were “acting nervous” as their 1980 Ford Thunderbird approached the checkpoint at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, said Tina Blocker, a Border Patrol spokeswoman.

“They were pulled into the secondary inspection area, but no immigration violation was found,” Blocker said. “But they still seemed very nervous, so a Border Patrol canine was brought in to sniff the vehicle and he alerted the officers that there were drugs.”

Black tar heroin takes its name from its color and its gummy texture, according to drug enforcement officials.

It is 45 times purer than conventional Mexican heroin and is easier to produce.

Blocker said there have been 255 seizures of illegal drugs at the San Clemente and Temecula border checkpoints since last July 1.

That amounts to 61% of all seizures made by the Border Patrol in California, she said.