KGUN9 On Your Side, Tucson News, Weather & SportsBorder Patrol seizes more than four tons of marijuana
Tucson, Ariz. – Agents assigned to the Tucson Sector seized more than four tons of marijuana over the weekend with a combined estimated value of more than $7.8 million. Border Patrol's strategy of effectively deploying the correct mix of technology, infrastructure, and manpower continues to prove effective.
Ajo agents assigned to the Papago Farms Forward Operating Base (FOB) were using Remote Video Surveillance System technology when they spotted four vehicles driving along the border fence Friday night. Agents arrived to the location and began a tracking operation that lasted into the following morning.
Agents located the four vehicles and discovered 320 bundles of marijuana. The vehicle occupants had absconded. The vehicles and marijuana were transported to the Ajo Station for processing. The marijuana weighed 6,744 pounds with an estimated worth near $5.5 million.
A Border Patrol Agent from the Ajo Station, using a thermal camera in the west desert area early Monday morning, reported a group of individuals carrying backpacks and walking north. A Horse Patrol Unit rode to the area but the group fled prior their arrival. Agents searched the area and found 44 bundles of abandoned marijuana weighing almost 1,000 pounds. The bundles, with an estimated value of more than $750,000, were transported to the Ajo Station for processing.
Just before midnight Sunday, agents from Ajo's All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Unit approached an area west of Lukeville, Ariz., after an agent using a thermal camera said he saw a group of individuals walking northbound and carrying backpacks. On site, agents discovered various abandoned burlap sacks fitted as backpacks. The sacks contained a total of 21 bundles of marijuana weighing more than 500 pounds and valued at more than $400,000. Agents were unable to locate the individuals and transported the seizure to the Ajo Station for processing.
Border Patrol Division Chief of Operations John Fitzpatrick stated "Border Patrol units such as the Horse Patrol and ATV's are a critical component of our enforcement. They are able to effectively patrol remote areas preferred by the smugglers. The horses offer the added capability of working rocky and challenging terrain that is otherwise inaccessible by traditional methods."
In a separate incident Saturday, Casa Grande agents using a Mobile Surveillance System (MSS)detected a vehicle driving north from the U.S./Mexican border. Agents responded to the area and located the vehicle, but the driver had already fled into the desert. Agents found 65 bundles of marijuana inside the vehicle weighing 1,526 pounds with an estimated value of more than $1.2 million. The vehicle and marijuana were transported to the Casa Grande Station for processing.
In fiscal 2009, the Border Patrol seized more than 1.2 million pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value in excess of $961 million – a record year for the most seized by any Border Patrol Sector. Approximately 47 percent of all marijuana seized on the Southwest border was seized in the Tucson Sector. In the first two months of this fiscal year (October and November), agents have seized more than 152,000 pounds of marijuana. The Border Patrol continues to thwart smugglers with the proper mix of manpower, technology and infrastructure.
