ICE seizes more than $11M worth of pot
Comments 5
February 07, 2011 5:34 PM
Jared Taylor
The Monitor

PHARR — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized more than 13,000 pounds of marijuana during a bust Friday.

ICE investigators received information Thursday about a storage unit along Owassa Road near Pharr being used as a marijuana repackaging and distribution point for marijuana.

Undercover agents conducted surveillance outside the storage unit, but did not observe anyone in the area. No one was inside when agents tried to obtain consent to search the storage unit, either.

Agents brought in narcotics detection dogs from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office to examine the outside of the unit. The dogs alerted to narcotics odors coming from inside the storage unit.

Agents obtained a federal search warrant for the property. On Friday, they raided the unit and found about 20 commercial produce boxes filled with bricks of marijuana, as well as several rolls of packaging tape and clear plastic wrap.

Agents seized a total of 510 bricks of compressed marijuana that weighed 13,314 pounds. Agents also found and seized three assault rifles and two shotguns inside the unit.

The drugs carried a value of more than $11 million. No arrests have been made in the case.

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