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Boston police seize $200,000 worth of heroin, arrest Newton man

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 28, 2009 03:09 PM

By Vivian Nereim, Globe Correspondent

Boston police seized $200,000 worth of heroin and arrested a Newton man allegedly trying to sell the drug to an undercover police officer Friday, officials announced today.

Amando Avila, 34, had roughly 2 kilograms of Mexican black tar heroin in his possession, police said at a press conference today.

"It's a big score," said Lieutenant Detective Stephen Meade.

Meade said he could not recall a seizure that large in recent memory. The 2 kilograms would have been cut with another substance to create up to double the volume, he said, and would have been sold on the street in quarter-gram and higher quantities.

"Heroin is a huge problem in Boston and the New England region as a whole," said Meade.

Heroin use is a problem partly because some OxyContin addicts turn to it when they can no longer afford OxyContin. An average of two users overdose each day in Boston, Meade said. Most are not fatal, he said.

Meade said police did not know the extent of Avila's role in the heroin trafficking trade. Avila was charged with trafficking a Class A substance in excess of 200 grams and trafficking a Class A substance within 1,000 feet of a school zone.