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Crime Log: Border Patrol seizes large drug loads in Amado, Arivaca

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This van filled with 130 pounds of marijuana was found near Amado on Thursday.

By Jaime Richardson, Green Valley News

Published: Saturday, September 20, 2008 9:16 PM MDT

It was a busy week for Border Patrol agents dealing with narcotics smugglers in the Santa Cruz and Pima Counties.

Last Sunday, agents near Arivaca intercepted two stolen vehicles carrying a combined total of 3,900 pounds of marijuana, a spokesperson for the Border Patrol said in a press release.

Early that morning, agents spotted the pickup trucks crossing the border near the Tres Bellotas Ranch, northeast of the Sasabe Port Of Entry and about 10 miles southwest of Arivaca. Agents followed tire tracks into a large wash, where they found the trucks abandoned.

After an extensive search of the area, agents could not locate the smugglers, the press release said.

The marijuana has an estimated street value of $3,169,000.

The two vehicles, a 2004 Yukon Denali and a 2007 Ford F-150 had been reported stolen.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nogales Border Patrol Agents used mobile camera technology to locate several smugglers west of Interstate 19 in Amado.

Footprints led Horse Patrol agents to five bundles of marijuana weighing 130 pounds, along with one handgun and one rifle, hidden in the brush.

In a separate incident later that morning, agents in Ajo, about 100 miles west of Tucson, discovered two abandoned trucks carrying a total of 234 bundles or 4,861 pounds of marijuana.

In all three cases, the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The firearms were turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The Tucson Sector is the busiest Border Patrol sector in the nation, the Border Patrol says. It is comprised of every county in Arizona except Yuma, La Paz and Mojave, the three counties that border the Colorado River.

For Fiscal Year 2008, there have been over 800,000 pounds of marijuana seized with a total street value of $640,000,000.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726


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Reader Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of gvnews.com.

Lorett wrote on Oct 6, 2008 10:20 AM:

" I NEED ALL CRIME GOING ON IN AND NEAR ARIVACA FOR THE LAST 6 MONTHS. HOW DO I GET THIS INFO? "

Eric wrote on Oct 7, 2008 1:10 PM:

" To get the info for crime i would contact the people who keep track of that sort of thing...I'm guessing the police, but I don't for sure. "

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