Arizona Border Patrol Agents Seize More Than $1.2 Million in Marijuana

Monday, April 28, 2008

Yuma, Ariz. – Border Patrol agents assigned to Wellton Station seized 79 bundles of marijuana in a smuggling load valued at over $1.2 million, Sunday night.

Approximately 8 p.m., agents patrolling in a remote desert area 25 miles southeast of Tacna, Ariz., found evidence of an illegal vehicle entry on a road leading north from the international boundary. Agents followed tire tracks for about 10 miles until they veered off-road in an eastbound direction. After tracking the vehicle for about a mile, the agents encountered a white Chevrolet Avalanche that had become stuck in soft sand. Agents approached the truck and discovered 79 bundles of marijuana inside the vehicle along with two sets of footprints heading in a northeastern direction.

At 9:45 p.m., a CBP Air & Marine helicopter pilot located the two fleeing subjects attempting to hide in some brush about a mile and a half from the vehicle. Border Patrol agents responded and apprehended the pair.

The two subjects were determined to be citizens and nationals of Mexico illegally present in the U.S. The white Chevrolet Avalanche was reported stolen out of Calexico, Calif.

The 79 bundles of marijuana had a total weight of about 1,518 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,214,296.00.