Agents nab cocaine, pot, suspects

Border Patrol agents from Yuma Sector seized 42 pounds of cocaine, more than $10,000 in cash and 610 pounds of marijuana in four separate weekend incidents.

On Sunday, Wellton Station agents working the Interstate 8 checkpoint at mile marker 78 referred a brown sport utility vehicle for secondary inspection after a positive canine team alert.

Agents found 17 packages of cocaine worth an estimated $391,000 wrapped in black electrical tape inside the vehicle's gas tank.

On the same day, Wellton Station agents patrolling seven miles west of Gila Bend apprehended seven suspects carrying burlap backpacks through the desert.

The backpacks were found to contain 300 pounds of marijuana worth more than $150,000.

Blythe Station agents patrolling on Interstate 8 on Saturday noticed the driver of a silver sedan exhibiting suspicious behavior. Agents followed the vehicle, observed additional suspicious behavior and pulled the vehicle over.

The occupants, a U.S. citizen and a Mexican national with lawful permanent resident status, consented to a vehicle search. Agents found $10,601 in cash, 27 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the trunk.

Also on Saturday, Wellton Station agents patrolling 30 miles southwest of Gila Bend apprehended a group of eight people carrying large backpacks of marijuana through the desert.

The backpacks contained a total of 310 pounds of marijuana valued at approximately $155,000.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.