MARIJUANA SEIZURES MULTIPLY WITH FALL HARVEST

With the fall marijuana harvest, loads of weed are coming across
Arizona's southern border - and the Border Patrol has snagged more
than a ton of it since Wednesday, spokesman Rob Daniels said.

The latest seizure came about 7:30 a.m. Friday, when agents near Why
pulled over a Dodge pickup on Arizona 85, according to a Border Patrol
news release. Inside the truck's camper shell they found 1,094 pounds
of marijuana, its odor masked by pine-scented air fresheners.

The 19-year-old driver was arrested, and the marijuana turned over to
the Drug Enforcement Administration, the release said.

Agents near Naco made two large seizures Wednesday and Thursday,
Daniels said. About 2 p.m. Thursday, the Border Patrol received
reports of people carrying backpacks across the border west of Naco.

Two agents tracked the group to a tree under which they were resting,
Daniels said. But when the agents approached, the group spotted them
and fled. Under the tree, the agents found 650 pounds of marijuana in
22 bundles.

About 10 p.m. Wednesday, agents spotted two trucks illegally crossing
the border east of Naco's port of entry, Daniels said. When the agents
began trailing them, the pickups made U-turns in front of the Naco
Border Patrol station and headed back south.

One of the trucks had mechanical trouble and pulled over before
reaching the border, Daniels said. Inside, the agents found 799 pounds
of marijuana. The occupants escaped, and the other truck made it back
across the border.

Visit the National Border Patrol Council's Tucson Sector site.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry