BP seizes 1,100 lbs of pot, arrests 17 for smuggling near Yuma
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested 17 smugglers and seized more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $571,200 in multiple incidents over the last few days, authorities said.
On Saturday, Wellton Station agents patrolling near Gila Bend found an abandoned pickup truck with 20 marijuana bundles, weighing nearly 459 pounds packed into the bed and the passenger cabin. Agents estimated the value of the drugs at $229,400, the agency said in a news release.
The next day agents working near Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge tracked and located eight men with six bundles of marijuana weighing more than 266 pounds and worth about $133,300. Agents turned the smugglers and marijuana over to the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force, the agency said.
Monday, agents arrested nine Mexican nationals in the United States illegally near Gila Bend.
Nearby, agents also found 10 burlap backpacks containing 417 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $208,500.
The men and drugs were handed over to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the release said.
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