[420 Girl]

SIERRA VISTA — More than 3,700 pounds of marijuana was seized and nine people were arrested on Saturday after a traffic stop led local and federal authorities to two homes in Sierra Vista.

The chain of events was sent in motion last week when the Sierra Vista Police Department informed Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “suspicious vehicle activity,” in the area of Ironmaster Street.

“They noticed methods that are commonly associated with smuggling, whether it’s human or drug smuggling,” said Vincent Picard, ICE spokesman.

Further investigation by ICE identified a residence at 1656 Ironmaster St. as possibly being involved in smuggling activity, authorities said.

Saturday morning, ICE agents observed a white van leaving the residence and informed Sierra Vista police, Picard said.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled, leading to a brief pursuit ending in the area of Buffalo Soldier Trail and Highway 92, Sierra Vista police Sgt. Lawrence Boutte said.

During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement officers discovered about 1,000 pounds of marijuana, Picard said.

The driver of the van, a Mexican citizen in the country illegally, was taken into custody.

After this incident, a search of the residence on Ironwood Street by agents of ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol uncovered about 1,500 pounds of marijuana, authorities said. Four people were arrested at the house, and two others who later arrived in a vehicle were also taken into ICE custody.

Information collected at the scene led investigators to a house at 583 Hegge Drive. There, two others were arrested, and 1,240 pounds of marijuana was seized.

A total of 3,736 pounds of marijuana was seized and five Mexican and four U.S. citizens were arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics with intent to distribute.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not release the identities of the suspects.

Picard said for an investigation occurring within the United States, the seizure of 3,700 pounds of marijuana was “pretty far up there” in terms of scale.

“Taking nine people into custody is also pretty significant,” he said.

A bumper crop

U.S. customs officers have seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana from the bumpers and doors of a car that was stopped at Naco.

Officers were screening travelers at the port on Thanksgiving Day when they became suspicious of a car driven by a 22-year-old man from Sonora, Mexico. Officers found both bumpers and doors were loaded with pot

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