[Sativa]

U.S. Border Patrol agents recovered about 5,600 pounds of marijuana in two incidents Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday, agents working at the Interstate 19 checkpoint at kilometer post 42 north of Tubac pulled a tractor-trailer rig over for secondary inspection and found 76 bundles of marijuana buried under 4 feet of charcoal in the trailer, said a press release from the agency.

The 1,380 pounds of marijuana has an estimated value of $1.38 million, according to figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center. Agents have seized 65,563 pounds of marijuana at the checkpoint from Oct. 1 through July 31, according to agency statistics.

On Thursday in the early morning, agents working on the Tohono O'odham Reservation discovered 4,200 pounds of marijuana in two abandoned vehicles. At 2 a.m., agents saw two vehicles drive across the border and travel with their lights off east of Federal Route 19, the release said.

The vehicles eluded agents and were found abandoned later. Agents found a 2003 Dodge pickup in heavy brush. An agency helicopter responded and spotted a 2005 Ford pickup a few hundred yards south of the Dodge.

They found more than 4,200 pounds of marijuana inside the two vehicles worth an estimated $4.2 million, according to figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center. Agents searched the area but weren't able to find the occupants of the vehicles.

Both vehicles, which were reported stolen, were turned over to the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the marijuana turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Agents in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector have seized 766,337 pounds of marijuana from Oct. 1 through July 31, a 32 percent increase from the same time last year.

News Hawk: Lord Mong - http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: Arizona Daily Star
Author: Brady McCombs
Contact: bmccombs@azstarnet.com
Copyright: 2007 Arizona Daily Star
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