An Isla Vista resident suspected of dealing heroin was arrested last week after a search of his Abrego Road apartment revealed a stockpile of the opiate and the necessary tools to peddle it on the streets, detectives said.

Approximately half an ounce of heroin was found in 41-year-old Aden Perez’s home on the 6700 block of Abrego last Thursday, Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Erik Raney said. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Narcotics Detectives also seized a scale and various other paraphernalia associated with narcotics sales, Raney said.

The search and seizure marked the end of a month-long investigation into Perez, who Detectives said could be characterized as a street-level dealer, selling to users inside and outside of Isla Vista. Perez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $30,000, Raney said.

The arrest comes on the heels of a countywide surge in heroin activity, Raney said. The increase in usage, which Raney said detectives have also seen in I.V., cannot be attributed to one factor. He said the rise and fall of heroin usage depends on a range of issues such as price variation, shipments of the drug into the area and the cost of other drugs like methamphetamines.

Street-level narcotics detectives have noted a drop in methamphetamine usage in recent months, which Raney said could correspond with the surge in heroin activity.

“Heroin has always been a drug that has seen a rise and fall in popularity, and it is really due to a combination of things,” Raney said. “You can’t pinpoint one specific thing.”

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