2 tons of marijuana seized over holiday weekend

Border Patrol finds more than $2.1M of pot in separate incidents

Posted Sep 6, 2011

Janet Rose Jackman
TucsonSentinel.com

U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionBorder Patrol agents found 103 bundles of pot Monday night in this pickup truck abandoned in the desert near S.R. 85. The marijuana, worth $1.1 million, weighed 2,345 pounds.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized 4,310 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $2.1 million, over the holiday weekend in separate incidents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday.

Agents working near S.R. 85 found 2,345 pounds of pot Monday night after they tried to stop a pickup truck traveling with its lights off. The truck drove off-road into the desert. Agents found the truck abandoned and discovered 103 bundles of pot worth $1.1 million, the Border Patrol said. The truck was seized and the marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Also on Monday, agents using high-tech equipment spotted a group of people in the West Desert carrying what the agents believed was marijuana. Agents found 16 bundles of pot stashed behind dense brush. The drugs, which weighed 842 pounds and worth $421,000, were to be turned over to the DEA, the agency said.

Agents working near Pisinimo on Sunday found 13 bundles of marijuana that weighed 620 pounds. The pot, worth more than $309,000 was to be turned over to the DEA.

Also on Sunday, 11 bundles of abandoned marijuana were discovered in the the West Desert. The pot, which weighed nearly 503 pounds and is worth $309,000, was expected to be turned over to the DEA, the Border Patrol said.