26 Pounds Of Heroin In A Diaper Box Is Largest Bust In History Of Modesto Police Department
MODESTO (CBS13) — Two of Modesto's biggest alleged drug dealers are off of the streets after police arrested them for hiding 26 pounds of pure heroin in a diaper box in their day.
Police say the couple's baby was in the car, and the drugs were hidden underneath diapers.
The bust was the single-largest heroin bust the Modesto Police Department has ever made, and it started with a stop by the department's narcotics enforcement team.
Israel Alcazar and Isabel Soto-Mandrong were stopped along Highway 99 near Keyes with their 10-month-old in the car. Hidden in a metal cylinder at the bottom of a box of diapers, cops say, was a stunning 26 pounds of uncut pure heroin so potent, it would probably kill you.
The estimated street value of the haul was $2.3 million.
"It's a large amount the most we've ever recovered," said Modesto Police spokeswoman Heather Graves.
Police believe all 26 pounds were going to be distributed in the Central Valley, a hotbed for drug activity.
They say most of the world's heroin originally comes from Afghanistan and is then funneled up through Columbia and finally Mexico, which is how police believe the batch got into the United States.
From there, the heroin would likely be cut and sold to lower-level dealers who could cut it again to increase the product's weight and street value.
"They can mix it with powdered milk or sugar to cut it. It usually quadruples the amount they're selling," Graves said.
Police say that amount of heroin probably moves into and through Modesto every single day.
The couple is being held on $250,000 bail. The 10-month-old baby is in Child Protective Services custody.
