Wellton agents nab drugs, illegals

Due to the efforts of Wellton Border Patrol agents, last week was a another bad one for smugglers trying to bring their drugs through the Yuma Sector.

Nine illegal aliens were arrested, and 553 pounds of marijuana and a small amount of cocaine were confiscated in three separate incidents.

The street value of the marijuana found and confiscated in these incidents is nearly $425,000.

"That is the way we like it," said Ken Jensen, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In the first incident, which happened early morning Oct. 6, agents from the Wellton Station observed some suspicious activity at the Sentinel rest stop.

The suspects fled as agents approached the rest stop, with one driving off at a high rate of speed eastbound on Interstate 8.

The other suspect fled on foot into the desert, while a third was found hiding under a truck and arrested. The driver escaped, but the suspect who ran into the desert was arrested.

Agents searching the area near the rest stop found a 20.5-pound bundle of what was later determined to be marijuana, and a cell phone. The phone rang after agents picked it up, allowing them to determine that the call came from a person in the area trying to pick up one of the men in custody.

A vehicle was located just west of the area containing a legal alien and 3.8 ounces of cocaine. That suspect was then arrested and turned over to the Arizona Department of Public Safety pending charges of possession of cocaine.

Then on Oct. 8, agents again working near the Sentinel rest stop found a 42.6-pound bundle of marijuana that may have been left by the men arrested on Oct. 6. "This is only a suspicion and has not been confirmed," Jensen said.

Also on Oct. 8, agents working on the ground, assisted by a CBP Air and Marine helicopter, arrested six men and confiscated four bundles of marijuana weighing 172.2 pounds about four miles south of I-8 west of Mohawk Pass.

Three of suspects were adults, the others were juveniles. The juveniles were turned over to the Mexican Consulate in Yuma.

Later that same afternoon, Wellton agents located eight bundles of marijuana weighing 317.8 pounds south of I-8 near the Aguila Mountains. No suspects were located in that incident.