WEEKEND POT BUST REMAINS ONE OF THE LARGEST AT 259 POUNDS

OAKLAND -- It was not quite the 300-plus pounds originally estimated, but
the 259 pounds of marijuana found by police over the weekend in a dingy
garage is still one of the largest hauls ever by Oakland officers,
authorities said Tuesday.

Police believe the marijuana, worth in excess of $1 million, was destined
for various points throughout the Bay Area, including the 71st Avenue and
Hamilton Street area of Oakland that is a major marijuana marketplace.

Some documents found with the marijuana inside the detached garage in the
7800 block of Hillside Street indicated some customers were in San Jose and
Stockton.

Vice/Narcotics Section commander Lt. Ben Fairow said Tuesday that "it would
not surprise me if it was for distribution in the entire Bay Area."

One investigator said the marijuana was of low quality -- known on the
street as "Bammer." When police first found the marijuana, they estimated
without weighing it that it was between 300 and 400 pounds.

But the official weight determined by police criminalists Monday was 259
pounds.

Jose Mata Tapia, 34, of San Leandro, the man arrested Saturday morning
allegedly transferring some of the marijuana from the garage to his car, was
charged Tuesday with three counts of possession of marijuana for sale. The
majority was found at the garage Tapia rented with smaller amounts found in
his car and at his San Leandro home, police said.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Patton said three counts were charged because
the marijuana was found at three places Tapia had access to.

Tapia, 34, is also charged with a prior narcotics conviction and could be
deported again if convicted.

He is scheduled to enter a plea today in Alameda County Superior Court. His
attorney, James Giller, did not want to comment Tuesday. Tapia is being held
without bail.

Tapia, who told police Saturday that he was a baker, was convicted in 1990
for possession of marijuana for sale and sales of marijuana. He was found
guilty of those charges after pleading no contest.

In February 1991, he was sentenced to two years in state prison, made to
register as a convicted narcotics offender, and deported, authorities said.

Narcotics Sgt. Sharon Williams said police believe Tapia is one of maybe 50
"mules" employed by a ring to smuggle the marijuana into the United States
from Mexico and make deliveries.

"It's not like he just came here," Williams said. "He knows what's going
on."

Fairow said Tapia might know all too well what losing the marijuana to
police could mean for him.

Although the weed was recovered on independent information developed by
officers Nishant Joshi, Nekou Millington and Gino Guerrero, Tapia is
probably hoping his employers do not hold him responsible, Fairow said.

"It depends on whether he owes them money or if they believe him. The story
hitting the papers might provide him some protection," Fairow said.