Thread: ICE agents find guns, drugs in north Tucson house

Published: 01.22.2007

ICE agents find guns, drugs in north Tucson house
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
U.S. Immigration and Customs agents found nearly 1,200 pounds of marijuana and six guns inside a suspected drug stash house in north Tucson last week.

The house is located north of East River Road and just east of North Swan Road in the 4400 block of North Placita Gazela, said Lauren Mack, ICE spokeswoman. After receiving a tip that the residence was being used as a stash house, agents conducted follow up surveillance and obtained a search warrant.

In the early evening of Jan. 18, they entered the house and found 46 bales of marijuana weighing 1,165 pounds, five handguns and one assault rifle, Mack said. They also found a bullet proof vest, a fake Pima County Sheriff's hat and a police procedural manual. Those items raised suspicions that the people were running a drug rip off scheme, meaning they would stop other drug smugglers, act as law enforcement and take their loads, Mack said.

"Why else would you have all those items in the house?" Mack said.

No one was in the house and no arrests have been made yet, Mack said. The 1,165 pounds of marijuana has an estimated value of $1.165 million, according to figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/165741

No one was in the house and no arrests have been made yet,

No one was guarding a million dollars worth of pot? Isn't that special?

After receiving a tip that the residence was being used as a stash house, agents conducted follow up surveillance and obtained a search warrant.

And after receiving a tip that ICE was hot on their butts, they hightailed it.