Drug trafficking rises in marijuana harvest

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 12/06/2007 12:00:00 AM MST

It's harvest season south of the border -- but the exports are not fruits and vegetables.

Border law enforcement agents said they are experiencing the seasonal surge as drug traffickers move the traditional fall marijuana crop to markets to the United States.

"Lately, Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of entry have been seizing 4,000 to 4,500 pounds of marijuana per week, which is just a little bit ahead of last year's pace," said Roger Maier, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in El Paso.

The spike began last month when authorities began seeing an increase in smuggling attempts, including multi-ton loads hidden in 18-wheelers, a few pounds carried by backpackers and "banzai runs" in which vehicles dash across the border.

The Rio Grande is dry enough to drive across in parts and vehicles regularly try to cross the desert west of El Paso.

Mexico is the leading source of foreign-grown marijuana in the U.S., representing an estimated $8.5 billion in yearly export sales for Mexican drug traffickers, according to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In parts of Chihuahua state, the illegal crop is nicknamed "la manzana verde" or the green apple.

And a large amount of that pot comes through El Paso. Last year, El Paso had about 25 percent (about 202,000 pounds) of all the marijuana seized at all the ports of entry nationally, Maier said.