2,600 lbs. of pot seized in 4 busts

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than 2,600 pounds of marijuana in the past week in four large busts at Arizona ports of entry.

The latest seizure occurred Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales when officers found 46 bales of marijuana that weighed 1,278 pounds stacked on top of cartons of chile peppers and cucumbers in the back of a tractor trailer, said Brian Levin, Customs and Border Protection spokesman. The marijuana, tractor and trailer were seized. The driver, a 44-year-old man from Culiacan, Sinaloa, was arrested.

On Jan. 12, officers seized 588 pounds of pot at the Douglas Port of Entry from inside compartments built into the gas tank and floor of a 1999 Ford F-250. On Jan. 15, officers at Douglas found 324 pounds of marijuana in the gas tank of a 1999 Chevy pickup. That same day in Lukeville, officers found nearly 470 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the floor of a 1989 Southwest Fleet motor home.

The 2,600 pounds has an estimated value of $2.6 million, according to figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center.