Agents tally 1 million pounds of pot

Record marijuana seizures this fiscal year in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector, which includes most of Arizona, have officials lauding stepped up border enforcement as the reason for their success.

Agents have confiscated more than 1 million pounds of pot with an estimated street value of over $800 million — more marijuana than has been seized in any Border Patrol sector in the history of the agency, officials said Tuesday.

The number reflects more than a third of all marijuana collared nationally by Border Patrol agents this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.

Mike Scioli, a Border Patrol spokesman, said the unprecedented level of busts is a result of improved tactics, increased personnel and more secure enforcement infrastructure, like the border fence and checkpoints.

“Having more manpower out there, that’s huge,” he said. “The fence helps stop vehicles. The checkpoints, that’s been a huge success, too.”

Scioli said there’s no way to tell whether the increases signifies a general upswing in the amount of drugs being smuggled across the border from Mexico.

Tuesday’s announcement came as Homeland Security border czar Alan Bersin made a visit to Nogales.

Scioli said the bulk of the pot busts were abandoned loads. Smugglers drive cars filled with dope or walk their loads across the border and leave them in the desert for another runner to pick up.

But the increased enforcement, he added, makes it tougher for drug cartels to smuggle narcotics across the border this way so they resort to more creative tactics, like temporary bridges or tunnels — sixteen tunnels found this year marks the most ever found, he said.

“Obviously they’re hurting because they have to come up with all these little creative ways to adapt to our enforcement,” Scioli said. “We hit them where it hurts and it’s really in their profits.”

The previous record of pot seized was set in 2007 when 897,535 pounds were found, also in the Tucson sector.

Border Patrol marijuana seizures on a national scale are up 52.2 percent compared to the same period last fiscal year. And between October and July, border patrol agents have confiscated more than 3.3 million pounds of drugs nationwide, an increase of 64.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

These busts include more than 2.6 million pounds of marijuana, 60,411 pounds of cocaine, 4,384 pounds of methamphetamines and 1,463 pounds of heroin.

The announcement came a day before Border Patrol officials were scheduled to meet in Tubac to discuss the northbound Interstate 19 checkpoint just north of town. The checkpoint has been a source of consternation for business owners, who say it discourages tourism and home buying. Others have said they support the checkpoint, though all agree it tends to push illegal immigrants off the interstate and into neighborhoods.

The meeting is Wednesday from 8-9:45 a.m. at Tubac Community Center, 50 Bridge Road, and will be broadcast live on KGVY 1080 AM radio.

On Thursday, the Arizona ACLU is sponsoring a discussion on checkpoints from 3-5 p.m. at the Joyner-Green Valley Branch Library, 601 N. La Canada.