BORDER AGENTS SEIZE OVER $15 MILLION IN POT, COCAINE

HIDALGO, Texas (AP) - Border officials found thousands of pounds of
marijuana and cocaine squirreled away in underbrush, hidden in an abandoned
truck and tucked beneath the floorboards of pickups in a string of drug
busts this week.

The seven seizures netted almost 150 pounds of cocaine and more than 14,000
pounds of marijuana. Sold on the street, the drugs would bring $4.8 million
and $11 million respectively.

"For some reason, there's a big spike that's been occurring," U.S. Customs
supervisory inspector Armando Goncalvez said.

On Monday, Customs inspectors found 45 pounds of cocaine hidden beneath the
rear seat of a pickup truck on the Hidalgo International Bridge. The next
day, officials discovered 102 pounds of cocaine under the bed of another
pickup truck.

Drivers Francisco Cruz, 25, and Mario Humberto Cazares-Ramirez, 47, were
being held without bond in the Starr County Jail.

Early Wednesday, Border Patrol agents in Frenton stumbled upon more than
500 pounds of marijuana abandoned in dense brush. A few hours later, agents
in Chapeno found another 500 pounds hidden in a truck parked at the side of
the road.

Earlier this week, Customs inspectors seized thousands of pounds of
marijuana in Nogales, Ariz., El Paso and Laredo.