Drug trafficking continues south of Valley

Posted: 5:33 PM
Last Updated: 1 hour and 31 minutes ago
By: Victoria Pelham, ABC15.com

MARICOPA, AZ - Pinal County Sheriff's deputies were kept busy south of the Valley Sunday and Monday after two separate incidents near Vekol Valley.

A PCSO spokesperson said a 1999 Chevy Suburban reportedly stolen out of Phoenix, was pulled over for a traffic stop at approximately 8:40 p.m. Sunday after deputies discovered the vehicle did not have working headlights.

Instead of cooperating, the driver reversed and exited the roadway near Vekol Valley Road and Interstate 8, but the vehicle's rear axle fell off.

The driver and two passengers fled the scene, but one passenger was detained and handed over to Border Patrol after acknowledging his undocumented status in the U.S.

Authorities reportedly found 1,922 pounds of marijuana in the car, with a street value of $961,000.

The passenger said the vehicle was driven in from Mexico, but said he did not know about the drugs.

Also in Vekol Valley, two armed men fled police during security checks on Monday, Pinal County Sheriff's spokesman Tim Gaffney said.

A deputy had been performing security checks while on patrol along a stretch of Interstate 8 known for drug trafficking when he noticed two men hiding in the bushes. At approximately 6:15 a.m., the deputy turned on his emergency lights and attempted to speak with the men.

The men, armed with rifles, reportedly fled south into the desert. One man dropped a backpack during his exit, leaving behind a fully loaded rifle magazine.

Police also found burlap sacks and other items in the area that suggested marijuana had just been loaded into an unknown vehicle, Gaffney said.

Police could not locate the suspects.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_ce ... kol-valley