2 seizures yield over ton of marijuana

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized more than a ton of marijuana in two incidents southwest of Tucson.

At 5 a.m. Friday, an agent using night-vision goggles spotted a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck driving across the border illegally near the village of San Miguel on the Tohono O'odham Nation, said Gustavo Soto, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.

San Miguel is about 60 miles southwest of Tucson.

After a helicopter began tracking the truck, the driver turned off the lights and continued north at high speed on a dirt road. The truck rammed into a parked Border Patrol Ford pickup that was facing south, Soto said. The smuggler left the truck and ran into the desert, Soto said.

An agent inside the pickup was momentarily dazed but not hurt, Soto said.

The agent found 1,061 pounds of marijuana, a two-way radio and a bulletproof vest inside. Agents said they believe the driver escaped back to Mexico. The truck was reported stolen out of Tucson, he said.