Ajo border agents seize 2,300 lbs. of pot in a single day

Posted Sep 12, 2014

Paul Ingram
TucsonSentinel.com

Customs and Border ProtectionA red Chevrolet Tahoe packed with 1,700 pounds of marijuana discovered by Border Patrol agents near Ajo, Ariz on Thursday.
Customs and Border ProtectionCovered by a tarp, a Chevrolet Tahoe was stuffed with 1,700 pounds of marijuana, one of three seizures of narcotics found by Border Patrol agents in a single day.
Customs and Border ProtectionBundles of marijuana worth more than $1.1 million found in three different incidents on Thursday will be handed over to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Border Patrol agents near Ajo seized 2,269 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1.1 million in three different seizures in a single day.

On Thursday, Border Patrol agents followed tire tracks to an abandoned Chevrolet Tahoe packed with 1,7000 pounds of marijuana, according to a release from the agency. The vehicle had been reported stolen earlier this month.

Later in the day, agents tracked a group of people suspected of being in the country illegally just west of Ajo, and apprehended two men. Shortly afterward, a helicopter crew from the Office of Air and Marine's Tucson branch searched the area and spotted two bundles of marijuana.

Another aircrew spotted a group of suspected smugglers and directed agents to 10 bundles of marijuana abandoned in the desert.

Police officers from the Tohono O'odham Nation seized the stolen Tahoe and the 107 bundles of marijuana were handed over to the Drug Enforcement Agency.