Yuma border agents seize marijuana near Lukeville

After 14 hours of tracking in a desolate area of southwestern Arizona, Border Patrol agents out of Camp Grip seized nearly $170,000 worth of marijuana, said a spokesman with the agency.

On Sunday around 2:30 a.m., agents based at Camp Grip, the forward operating base in the Yuma sector, began tracking footprints approximately 30 miles west of the U.S. Port of Entry at Lukeville, Ariz., located southeast of Yuma along the Arizona-Mexico border, according to a news release Tuesday from the U.S. Border Patrol.

Agent Shaun Kuzia, with the Yuma sector Communications Division, said that after about 14 hours of tracking, the agents discovered five abandoned backpacks containing 210.8 pounds of marijuana.

Agents secured the contraband, then continued tracking footprints at the scene. They arrested five suspected smugglers a short time later about a half mile away, according to the release.

Sign cutting, or tracking, is one of the fundamental tools that Border Patrol agents use, Kuzia said.

From day one, agents use the skill, he said. And even though it's sometimes difficult to track suspects, a seizure such as this one "just signifies how important that fundamental tool of sign cutting is," Kuzia said.

The marijuana has an estimated street value of $168,640, according to the release.

The five suspected smugglers were transported to the Wellton Station and processed for prosecution.

Since October 2008, agents have seized more than 50,000 pounds of marijuana in the Yuma sector.

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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.