CUSTOMS DISCOVERS MILLIONS IN HEROIN IN TRUCK AT BORDER

LAREDO -- U.S. Customs inspectors discovered 59 pounds of heroin under the
dashboard of a pickup during an inspection on the Gateway to the Americas
Bridge. It was the largest load of heroin confiscated along the
Texas-Mexico border in recent memory, said Gene Garza, the Customs port
director in Laredo. Heroin is worth as much as $1 million a pound.

The driver, 24-year-old Jesus Humberto Mendoza, was arrested during Sunday
night's seizure. A magistrate ordered Mendoza, a permanent resident living
in San Antonio, held without bail on drug-smuggling charges.

Customs officials said the 1997 Ford F-150 pickup stalled after a routine
inspection at the primary booth. The driver pushed the vehicle to a
secondary inspection lane, where a drug-sniffing dog led inspectors to the
dashboard.

Garza said no heroin seizure on the Texas-Mexico border has compared in
size since 55 pounds were found in a motor home entering theUnited States
at Del Rio in January 1996