Border agents seize sex convict, pot load
Arizona Daily Star
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/197768.php
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.23.2007

Border Patrol agents arrested a convicted sex offender and seized 1,500 pounds of marijuana Tuesday in separate incidents.

Agents at the Naco station arrested a 33-year-old Mexican man on Tuesday. During processing, they discovered he had been convicted of having sex with a minor and rape by force or fear in 2003 in San Bernardino County, Calif., said Dove Haber, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokeswoman. He was held for formal removal as an aggravated felon, she said.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday at milepost 39 on Arizona 286, about 35 miles southwest of Tucson, agents discovered 1,500 pounds of marijuana inside an abandoned Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle. The maroon SUV had been reported stolen in Nogales, Ariz., Haber said.

An agent had spotted the vehicle near the border earlier and knew it didn't cross through the Sasabe port of entry.

A Customs and Border Protection helicopter helped track the vehicle, prompting the driver to flee from the SUV. The driver was not captured.