Six arrested on beach with boat-load of marijuana

By Debbi Baker, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
10:49 a.m. June 11, 2009

IMPERIAL BEACH – Sheriff's deputies arrested six people early Thursday morning and confiscated 200 pounds of marijuana they said had just been brought into the country via boat.

The deputies were on routine patrol about 2 a.m. when they spotted three men wearing life jackets who had apparently waded ashore and another man at the foot of Sea Coast Drive hiding in some rocks, Sgt. Jerry Hartman said.

The men had four duffel bags filled with marijuana, Hartman said.

The men in life jackets had just been dropped off by someone in a boat and the fourth man was there to meet them, Hartman said. His car was in the parking lot, the sergeant said.

Deputies took them into custody and also arrested two men who were seen leaving the area in a car, Hartman said.

The three men in life jackets were determined to be in the country illegally from Mexico, Hartman said. The others were also from Mexico but had valid passports and visas.
All were booked into jail on suspicion of transportation of marijuana and criminal conspiracy, the sergeant said.

The street value of the drugs was not determined, but marijuana from Mexico typically sells for about $500 to $800 per pound, Hartman said.

Debbi Baker: (619) 293-1710;

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... ound-boat/