Federal agents seize tons of pot around county

UNION-TRIBUNE
5:52 p.m. June 22, 2009

Federal authorities said they were kept busy this weekend when they seized about 3,000 pounds of marijuana from nearly two dozen searches in San Diego County.

About 2,500 pounds of the drug were seized at points of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, with the largest seizure about noon Saturday in San Ysidro.

Customs agents found 50 packages with 995 pounds of marijuana in a hidden compartment inside a trailer towed by a 2003 Dodge pickup truck.

A dog alerted agents to the possibility of narcotics, and an X-ray machine confirmed something was amiss in the trailer, agents said.
The 48-year-old male driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested.

In East County, Border Patrol agents seized nearly 500 pounds in two separate searches: one at a checkpoint in Pine Valley Saturday morning and the second Sunday night when agents stopped an SUV on a dirt road near Tecate.

A 20-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen, and her 22-year-old male passenger from Mexico were arrested at the checkpoint. The 66-year-old driver of the SUV, a U.S. citizen, also was arrested.

All face smuggling charges, federal authorities said.

Breaking News Team: (619) 293-1010; breaking@uniontrib.com

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