C.B.P. News Release

Agents in Yuma Recover Abandoned $1 Million in Marijuana Found in Stolen Truck

(Tuesday, August 04, 2009)

Yuma, Ariz. – Drug smugglers dismantled a portion of the international border fence early Tuesday morning but abandoned their stolen truck and nearly a million dollars worth of marijuana when U.S. Border Patrol agents used tire deflation devices to disable their vehicle.

The incident began about 1 a.m. when agents from the Wellton station discovered tire tracks leading way from the border fence about 60 miles east of Yuma. A short time later, another agent using night vision equipment spotted the truck traveling northbound along Papago Wells Road.

Agents were able to monitor the truck before safely deploying a tire deflation device near the intersection of Papago Wells and Heart Tank roads. The agents successfully deflated three of the truck’s tires, but the driver was able to continue driving the truck for about two miles through the desert before abandoning it. The driver and another occupant absconded into the rugged mountain terrain. Agents later learned that the smugglers had cut through the heavy steel bollard fence to make entry into the United States.

The abandoned 2006 Ford pickup truck, which contained 1,194 pounds of marijuana in 40 bundles, previously was reported stolen to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office. The marijuana, with a street value of about $955,360, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Contacts For This News Release
Yuma Sector
CBP Public Affairs
Phone: (928) 341-6520

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/new ... 2009_6.xml