BUCKEYE P.D. MAKES RECORD MARIJUANA BUST

More than 200 pounds of marijuana was seized last week when a routine
traffic stop turned into the biggest drug bust in the history of the
Buckeye Police Department.

The sizeable load was discovered just before midnight Oct. 8 after Buckeye
Police Officer John Martinez spotted a pick-up truck being driven
erratically on the eastbound side of Interstate 10 near Verrado Way, Sgt.
Bill Seltzer said. Suspecting the driver of being intoxicated, Martinez
stopped the truck to investigate further.

Before our officer had a chance to approach the vehicle, though, the driver
took off on foot into the desert," Seltzer said.

Following a short pursuit, Martinez collared the suspect and escorted him
back to his vehicle, Seltzer said.

We thought he was under suspicion of DUI, but it turned out it was not that
at all," Seltzer said. "To the best of our knowledge, he was not under the
influence of anything."

What Martinez did discover, however, was the driver -- later identified as
35-year-old Mario Jesus Barraza -- had been hauling dozens of bundles of
marijuana. Totaling more than 200 pounds, the packages were stored in plain
view in the bed of the truck.

It was all uncovered, just sitting right there," Seltzer said. "It pretty
much filled up the bed of the truck. Anybody who walked up to the truck
could've seen it."

Barraza, an undocumented Mexican immigrant whom police believe lives in Los
Angeles, was immediately taken into custody, Seltzer said. Because Barraza
has refused to cooperate with investigators, his intended destination is
unclear, Seltzer added.

He was heading west, so we believe he was either heading to Los Angeles or
he was going to take State Route 85 south to the Yuma/San Diego area,"
Seltzer said. "We stopped him before he got to that cut-off point, so we
don't know for sure where he was going."

Although police have yet to determine the exact street value of the cargo,
Seltzer said it's likely worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
According to the Marijuana Policy Project Web site, marijuana currently
sells for $25 per quarter-ounce in Arizona -- which would make last week's
seizure worth $320,000.

Barraza, who doesn't speak English, still was being questioned as recently
as Monday morning, Seltzer said.

We had some of our people who speak fluent Spanish talk with him, but he's
been unwilling to tell us anything," he added. "He's an undocumented
immigrant, he's in the country illegally and he's been caught with a large
amount of illegal drugs. You'd think he'd be a little more cooperative ...