AMBULANCE CROSSES BORDER, THEN YIELDS POT

A Mexican ambulance bearing a critically ill patient crossed into the
United States yesterday with an additional load -- an estimated 1,000
pounds of marijuana.

U.S. Customs Service supervisors seized the drugs after first letting the
ambulance continue under escort to Brown Field, where a medical evacuation
aircraft was waiting.

"I believe that was a compassionate call," said Vince Bond, Customs Service
spokesman. "It would have taken a fair amount of time to transfer the
patient to a U.S. ambulance, and time appeared to be of the essence here."

The patient and his accompanying wife, whom Bond believed to be U.S.
citizens, were not suspected in the smuggling. But the driver and his
assistant, both Mexican citizens, were detained and questioned last night.

Bond said the ambulance arrived at the San Ysidro port of entry from Mexico
about 1:30 p.m.

"The patient appeared to be very, very ill," Bond said, adding that he did
not know the nature of the illness.

At the border, a narcotics-sniffing dog "showed interest" in the ambulance,
an official said.

"This obviously raised suspicions on the part of the inspectors," Bond
said. "But, with sensitivity to the state this patient was in, supervisors
allowed them to proceed to Brown Field with an escort from a customs officer."

The transfer of the patient to the aircraft went smoothly, and the
ambulance driver returned to San Ysidro as directed. There, inspectors
began tearing apart the ambulance.

They found packages of marijuana in the side panels and roof.

"Half a ton of marijuana is a good seizure for us," Bond said. "People are
concerned about how long the wait is at the border, but you see even a
vehicle like this is being used to smuggle contraband. It shows you what
steps the cartels will go to to get their narcotics across the border."

Bond said $400,000 would be a conservative estimate of the value of the
seized marijuana.