Thread: 2 held, 2 tons of pot found in vehicles, W. Side home

Tucson Region

2 held, 2 tons of pot found in vehicles, W. Side home
Police say house was likely used for distribution

By Alexis Huicochea
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.10.2008

Two men were arrested in connection with the seizure of about $2 million worth of marijuana Tuesday.

Arnulfo Vega Montaño and Guillermo Carrillo Garcia were taken into custody, according to Sgt. Mark Morlock of the Counter Narcotics Alliance, a multiagency task force.

The marijuana, which weighs about 4,000 pounds, was seized from a vehicle during a traffic stop and from a home on the West Side, he said.
Morlock gave this account of the bust:

Detectives got a tip Tuesday afternoon about a white 2008 Chevrolet Avalanche that may have been involved in drug activity. Authorities tracked down the truck and began watching it.

They determined that a Nissan Armada being driven by Garcia was escorting the Avalanche and pulled the vehicles over near Interstate 19 and Ajo Way around 2:45 p.m.

About 800 pounds of marijuana was found in the back of the Avalanche, which was being driven by Montaño. Montaño was arrested on a charge of transportation of marijuana for sale.

Garcia was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to transport marijuana for sale.

Detectives then went to Garcia's home in the 2600 block of West Southern Star Drive, near West Starr Pass Boulevard and South Greasewood Road, where they found 2,200 pounds of marijuana in the laundry room and another 1,000 pounds in the back of another truck that hadn't been unloaded.

Garcia lives at the West Side home. His girlfriend and two young children were home at the time.

The girlfriend is being treated as an investigative lead but was released, Morlock said. The children were not removed from her custody.

Two semiautomatic handguns were also found at the residence, resulting in additional charges of possession of marijuana for sale, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm during a narcotics offense.

Both Montaño and Garcia remained in jail Wednesday morning.

"It appears the residence was being used to store and then redistribute large amounts of marijuana," Morlock said. "It wasn't a typical stash house because these people were living there as their primary residence. It was more of a distribution point for marijuana that came from Mexico.

"Garcia appears to be responsible for the transportation of the marijuana to the Tucson area and the redistribution."

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Maybe I missed it but I didn't see an illegal status.

Since this was drug related, the state will seize the home and all assets, right?

Originally Posted by Gogo

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see an illegal status.

I was watching for that as well Gogo, but since it involved running drugs across the border I thought it was ok to post.