Published: April 4, 2011
Updated: 6:26 p.m.

Boat with 740 pounds of pot washes ashore

By SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

DANA POINT – Authorities discovered 740 pounds of marijuana on a boat that ran ashore in Dana Point on Monday morning but are searching for the people involved in the smuggling operation, Border Patrol officials said.

The panga-style boat washed up on the beach about 6 a.m., an hour after it was first seen traveling northbound in the ocean off San Clemente, Border Patrol agent Jerry Conlin said.

The 740.69 pounds of marijuana is estimated to have a street value of about $444,000, Conlin said.

Authorities are searching for the boat's occupants, Conlin said, as well as anyone else involved in the smuggling operation.

The U.S. Border Patrol in recent months has increased its presence in Orange County in order to combat a rise in the smuggling of people and drugs by sea. Authorities believe that tighter scrutiny at the border has led to a rise in the ocean routes.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7939 or semery@ocregister.com

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