Ventura County officials say the arrest of a man dubbed Mexico's "King of Heroin" has removed a half-million doses of the drug from California streets.
At a news conference Monday, authorities said a regional task force spent three years working its way up the chain of dealers until it led to the arrest in Mexico of Jose Antonio Arreguin Medina last week.
Wiretaps and surveillance of two midlevel dealers in Downey and Oxnard led to the seizure of more than 130 pounds of heroin in the county in 2008.
Authorities contend that Arreguin sent 440 pounds of heroin across the border each month for distribution from San Diego to San Jose.
Ventura County authorities say they'll request his extradition this week but the process could take weeks or months.
