Two men, one of whom police say is a confirmed member of the Mexican Mafia gang, were arrested this week for outstanding warrants and possession of a controlled substance, heroin.

The arrest came after a daylong surveillance of suspected drug traffickers that led Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents from Port Arthur to Houston and back to Jefferson County on Wednesday. Then deputies stopped the suspect vehicle on Texas 73 and Wilber Road.

The suspects, Joey Guy Wilson, 37, of Port Arthur, and Chester Elwin Barber, 61, of Texas City, were arrested on outstanding warrants. Wilson had traffic warrants and Barber had a parole violation warrant, according to a press release from the JSCO.

The vehicle was searched and law enforcement found two ounces of heroin and 6.6 grams of China white heroin, which is a synthetic version of fentanyl.

Both Wilson and Barber were booked into the Jefferson County Correctional Facility for their outstanding warrants and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Barber is also a confirmed Mexican Mafia gang member considered to be armed and dangerous as well as a flight risk.
China white heroin has been responsible for much of the increase in drug overdose deaths in recent years, and multiple variations are being made and sold on the black market. Illegal drug manufacturers frequently tinker with the ingredients, and users often have no idea exactly what they are putting into their system. Since the chemicals in any synthetic drug formulation constantly change and widely vary in toxicity, there is no way to know what its exact effect on a person will be.