Thread: McAllen police seize 3 tons of pot

McAllen police seize 3 tons of pot

January 21, 2012 9:19 PM
THE MONITOR

McAllen police seized about three tons of marijuana in a series of raids Saturday morning that began with a report of a suspicious vehicle.

Five people were arrested after patrol officers were called to a report of suspicious activity about 3 a.m. Saturday. McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said officers found evidence at the scene pointing to another location and that they followed a trail that lasted several hours and netted about 6,000 pounds of marijuana.

“Officers did a great job on following up on each and every lead that they got,” Rodriguez said.

He said his department was still conducting searches in the investigation and declined to give a detailed account of the event. Police will release details on the people arrested once the department determines whether it will press charges in state or federal court, the chief said.

The incident began when an anonymous caller reported that he saw two men backing up a Ford F-250 to a garage in the 4400 block of West Ivy, police said. The men reportedly were carrying assault rifles.

Officers who responded to the location arrested two men and seized several thousand pounds of marijuana. Evidence there tipped officers off to two other locations — each located near North Bentsen Road — on Auburn Avenue and North Taylor Road.

Police said five people, including four juveniles, were arrested with an estimated 6,000 pounds of marijuana seized. The seizure is McAllen’s largest since its Special Investigations Unit raided two homes on Feb. 23 and found 12,000 pounds of marijuana, 145 pounds of cocaine, 12 automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The February bust was part of a national effort to disrupt cartels in response to the death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was killed that same month while traveling along a Mexican highway.

Rodriguez said Saturday’s arrests and drug seizures kept his department busy throughout the morning.

“The success of having it all seized is strictly a result of officers that were able to pick up one lead from one location and follow it to a second location and then yet a third location,” the chief said.

McAllen police seize 3 tons of pot | mcallen, police, officers - Brownsville Herald

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