[420 Girl]

Casa Grande, AZ — U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Casa Grande station seized 747 pounds of marijuana Wednesday. The discarded backpacks’ content was valued at $597,600.

U.S. Border Patrol agents, using a mobile surveillance system, detected a group of backpackers north of the U.S./Mexico international boundary. Agents responded to the area to identify the individuals and their purpose for being in the west desert, but the subjects fled. A thorough search of the area where the subjects were last seen with a canine team uncovered 16 backpacks containing 32 bundles of marijuana.

The combination of technology and specialty units, such as canine teams, is enhancing the Border Patrol’s effectiveness in combating illegal smuggling into the United States, the patrol said. The increased use of technology has substantially improved the Border Patrol’s situational awareness in remote border areas while canines consistently pinpoint exact locations of hidden contraband and humans, the patrol said.

In the first two months of this fiscal year (October and November), agents in the Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol have seized more than 152,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value exceeding $122 million. Marijuana seizures have risen 12 percent from last year during the same time period.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

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