ARMED CITIZENS CAPTURE POT LOAD

LOCHIEL, Ariz. - Members of an armed citizens patrol seized about 280
pounds of marijuana Tuesday and Wednesday from smugglers crossing a ranch
owned by The Nature Conservancy.

About 13 volunteers for the group, called Ranch Rescue, have been working
near Lochiel since Saturday in their first mission aimed at surveillance,
rather than cleanups at border-area ranches.

An official of The Nature Conservancy said Wednesday night the group was
unaware Ranch Rescue members had been operating on the San Antonio Ranch,
about 65 miles south of Tucson. Tom Collazo, the director of conservation
for the conservancy's Arizona branch, said the ranch manager would ask the
group to stop today.

Jack Foote, the spokesman for Ranch Rescue, said the group received
permission to conduct surveillance there from a ranch manager. Armed with
that permission and semi-automatic rifles, the camouflage-clad members
built a hide-out near a foot-trail across the ranch Tuesday evening.

Only about 15 minutes passed before smugglers trooped up the trail bearing
bundles on their backs, Foote said. The Ranch Rescue members stepped out
and told the smugglers "Alto!" - "halt" in Spanish.

"They dropped their packs and ran off," Foote said.

A similar incident occurred about nine hours later at 3 a.m. Wednesday,
Foote said. He called members of the news media Wednesday morning so they
could document the event, then reported it to law enforcement.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Deputy Ruben Laredo picked up the 13 bundles of
burlap-wrapped marijuana about 2 p.m. Wednesday.

For Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada, the drug seizures were an
unexpected twist to a situation he had been following because of its
dangerous potential. Estrada's primary concern, since he learned of the
Ranch Rescue operation, has been what might happen if members encountered
typical border-crossers and tried to arrest them.

What they did find still worries him.

"The concern is that these individuals, as well-meaning as they may be,
could cause a major problem down there," Estrada said. "They don't have the
training or the authority to be intercepting loads down there. That's
better suited for law enforcement."

Estrada questioned the approximately 18-hour lapse between the time the
smugglers dropped the initial load and the time the Sheriff's Department
was notified. He also questioned why Ranch Rescue members moved the bundles
from the spots they were dropped to a place near the ranch house.

"Obviously they wanted the impact of this particular event to reflect
favorably on their presence, and they wanted the media there before we got
there," Estrada said. "It could have been handled much better."

Ranch Rescue formed in 2000 when Foote, of Abilene, Texas, was inspired by
news accounts of Cochise County rancher and businessman Roger Barnett. For
years, Barnett and family members have patrolled their ranch east of
Douglas, sometimes detaining illegal border crossers.

Until now, the group's operations have focused on helping ranchers fix
fences and clean up trash, though they generally worked well-armed and
wearing uniforms. This is the first time the group has mounted an operation
focused on surveillance, Foote said.

He said the volunteers working at the ranch near Lochiel are from other
states, but Arizona members helped set up the mission, dubbed "Operation Hawk."

Foote declined to identify the ranch manager who gave Ranch Rescue
permission to conduct its operation on the property. He also declined to
name the ranch. But a street sign and the Sheriff's Department identified
the place as the San Antonio Ranch, purchased almost two years ago by The
Nature Conservancy's Arizona branch.

News of the presence of heavily armed civilians on the ranch came as a
shock Wednesday night to Collazo, the conservancy official. After learning
of the situation from a reporter, Collazo contacted the ranch's manager and
found out their presence resulted from a mix-up.

"He said he was contacted by this group, but he did not give them
permission to camp on the property. He said he thought it was the Border
Patrol," Collazo said.

"We're willing to cooperate with the authorities, but we haven't authorized
this group to conduct any operations on this property," he said.

Among the men at the property Wednesday was Rob Krott, who said he is a
former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and is the chief foreign
correspondent of Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Krott, an AR-15 slung over his shoulder and a sidearm holstered on his hip,
reeled off stories of traveling to Afghanis-tan, Somalia and other world
hot spots, as a soldier and on his own. Krott said he initially contacted
Ranch Rescue with the idea of writing a story about the group.

Then he decided to join Operation Hawk and bring his own "tactical team" -
ex-military friends he trusts. Part of the motivation, he acknowledged, is
adventure, but he said he also believes in the group's property-rights message.

"We're not the problem here. We've broken no laws. We intend to break no
laws," Krott said. "We're carrying legal firearms, for our personal
protection, in accordance with Arizona law."