POLICE WARN OF HIGH-GRADE HEROIN

White heroin potent enough to be lethal could be circulating on Houston
streets, police warned Friday.

Officers recently intercepted a "significant" amount of white heroin that
was 87 percent pure -- more than five times the purity considered dangerous
and potentially deadly.

Police arrested a street-level dealer who had the potent narcotic and
decided to alert the public.

"Clearly, we're concerned about people's health," said acting Police Chief
Tim Oettmeier. "A certain segment of the population takes drugs, and their
health is at risk. If we know something is going to endanger their health,
even if they're doing something illegal, the right thing to do is to make
them aware of it."

In August last year, 16 residents of northeast Houston died one weekend
after they overdosed on "speedball," a highly potent mixture of heroin and
cocaine.

The victims, ranging from a 16-year-old girl to a 46-year-old man, took the
same speedball mixture and died within a 48-hour period.

Police declined to elaborate on the recent arrest or to say how much white
heroin may be on the streets or where it might be sold.

Police ask anyone with information related to this incident to contact the
narcotics division at 713-247-8100.

The extremely pure white heroin differs from brown heroin in its greater
potency and method of ingestion. White heroin can be injected, while brown
heroin is commonly smoked.

The nationwide average purity for heroin being sold on the streets is about
38 percent, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The
purity level of retail heroin jumped from an average of about 7 percent in
the 1980s to about 25 percent in the early 1990s.

Heroin can cost $13,000 to $200,000 per kilogram, based on purity and
country of origin.

This country's largest market for high-purity white heroin is in the
Northeast, the DEA says, with Philadelphia leading the nation with 72
percent pure on average.

Chronicle reporter Peggy O'Hare contributed to this story.