U.S. CUSTOMS SEIZES SEVEN TONS OF MARIJUANA, COCAINE

U.S. Customs Service and local officials have seized nearly 12,500 pounds
of marijuana and 1,554 pounds of cocaine in two drug busts.

Customs special agents found the cocaine and 2,058 pounds of marijuana
hidden in a tour bus that entered the United States at the Paso Del Norte
port of entry Tuesday night. In a separate seizure Tuesday night, Customs
agents and El Paso County Sheriff's Department officers seized 10,432
pounds of marijuana in a van and a warehouse in El Paso.

Customs inspectors who examined the tour bus about 4 p.m. noticed what
appeared to be a hidden compartment in the back of the bus. After scanning
the bus with X-ray equipment, inspectors and National Guard officers began
dismantling the bus and found the drugs.

Agents arrested Mauricio Lazcano Flores, 39, of Ixaquilpan, Mexico, and
Alberto Simon Corona, 36, of Ecatepec, Mexico, for investigation of drug
smuggling.

Customs agents received an anonymous tip that led them to the warehouse
where they saw a 1995 Ford cargo van leaving the property. A search of the
vehicle yielded more than 3,620 pounds of marijuana.

The driver, David Carrete, 31, of Parral, Mexico, was arrested for
investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute.

Following the traffic stop, officials searched the warehouse and found the
rest of the marijuana, which weighed more than 6,800 pounds.

Agents arrested a man in the warehouse, Christian Alejandro Espinoza, 26,
of Juarez, Mexico.