Soldiers seize 2.5 tons of pot at tourist beach

Sea routes increasingly used to smuggle to U.S.

Por: Omar Millán 27 Enero 2012 @ 5:45 am
Tamaño: Aumentar Tamaño de Letra Disminuir Tamaño de Letra

TIJUANA – The Mexican army on Wednesday seized nearly 5,000 pounds of marijuana on a beach north of Ensenada used mainly by American campers, pushing to 11.5 tons the total confiscated in Baja California in January.

Gilberto Landeros, commander of the Second Military Zone, announced Thursday in a press conference that a portion of the drug was found near a tractor trailer and the other in a small motorized boat at Saldamando Beach.

He said it’s not known yet what criminal group was smuggling the drug.

The army has stepped up its patrols on the coast because traffickers are increasingly transporting drugs to the United States by sea, Landeros said.

On Dec. 8, Mexico’s Defense Department announced that soldiers had seized 3.4 tons of marijuana they had found in a beach called La Burrita, about 20 minutes south of Rosarito.

The drug was abandoned by traffickers after they had unloaded it, apparently after they became aware the military was approaching. No one was arrested.

Something similar happened Wednesday at dawn with the more than 2.4 tons of marijuana confiscated at Playa Saldamando, located about an hour south of Tijuana.

Soldiers made no arrests. The beach is mainly used by Americans camping on the beach, and is advertised as a safe, family-friendly campground.

The army presented the boat, called a panga, along with 192 packages of marijuana weighing a total of 4,950 pounds, at the Morelos military base.

In January alone, Landeros said that soldiers have confiscated so far 23,060 pounds of marijuana, seized three clandestine fields and discovered and destroyed 19 makeshift landing strips for small planes.

“Compared to the same month last year, we’ve seized a lot more,” Landeros said, though he did not elaborate.

He announced other military operations this week.

On Wednesday, three people were detained in Tijuana’s eastside neighborhood of Villa Floresta carrying 18 packages of marijuana, with a total weight of 57.2 pounds, and a rifle, 33 rounds and one vehicle.

Also Wednesday, soldiers detained a woman in the city’s north side that had six packages and 83 small bundles of marijuana, with a total weight of 15 pounds.

In an operation Tuesday in Mexicali, the army arrested five people in the westside neighborhood of Parajes carrying nearly 8 pounds of “crystal” methamphetamine, two rifles, one gun, one clip, 97 cartridges of various calibers and two vehicles.

The army made a record number of drug seizures in Baja California last year. Among them was a 300-acre “mega field” of marijuana plants discovered south of Ensenada in July, considered the largest ever detected in Mexico.

In October, soldiers confiscated 788 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of at least $11 million.

In 2011, the army seized a total of 3,181 pounds of cocaine and dozens of tons of marijuana.

Authorities said most of the drugs belonged to the Sinaloa cartel, which they said now controls trafficking to the United States in the border area, as well as dealing on the streets.

mar.millan@sandiegored.com

Soldiers seize 2.5 tons of pot at tourist beach - Noticias - SanDiegoRed