Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2001 The Dallas Morning News Contact: P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265 Fax: (972) 263-0456 Feedback: http://dmnweb.dallasnews.com/letters/ Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/wwwthreads.pl Author: Diane Jennings AGENTS SEIZE HEROIN LOAD 92 POUNDS DISCOVERED IN VEHICLE AT BORDER The U.S. Customs Service said it seized 92 pounds of heroin with an estimated street value of $3.2 million at the Del Rio border entry Tuesday morning. "This is a massive seizure," said Kevin Bell, spokesman for the service, noting that about 100 pounds is the record for heroin seizures along the Southwestern border. Marijuana is more common, he said, and Del Rio is one of the smaller border entry points. The seizure occurred after an inspector noticed Samuel Magana-Fernandez, a 40-year-old Mexican citizen with resident alien status in the United States, behaving nervously at the checkpoint. He referred Mr. Magana-Fernandez to a secondary inspection area, where another inspector used a device to measure whether portions of his vehicle the Ford Explorer had greater mass, or density, than usual. After detecting abnormally high readings, the second officer called in a canine enforcement officer and his drug detector dog. The dog immediately signaled the scent of narcotics in the rear of the vehicle. When inspectors drilled into the area, they discovered heroin under the vehicle's baggage compartment. Mr. Magana-Fernandez was then arrested. He is to make an initial appearance before a magistrate in Del Rio on Wednesday. "We love it when we get these big seizures," Mr. Bell said. Tuesday's seizure follows several other large confiscations along the border in recent weeks. On Dec. 17, inspectors in Laredo confiscated 59 pounds of heroin, while 101 pounds were seized Oct. 3 in San Luis, Ariz. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe