Agents seize cocaine, marijuana worth $1.1 million

Yuma U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 70 pounds of cocaine and nearly a half-ton of marijuana with a combined street value of $1,125,200 in three incidents Thursday.

According to Agent Spencer Tippets of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, Blythe Station agents working the California Highway 78 checkpoint at mile marker 56 referred a Ford pickup for secondary inspection after a canine team alert.

Agents searched the vehicle and found approximately $640,600 worth of cocaine hidden in the truck’s spare tire, which was attached to the underside of the vehicle. The cocaine, vehicle and driver, a Mexican national with lawful permanent resident status, were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“It’s obviously a good-size seizure,” Tippets said. “This is a good example of no matter where they try and hide it, we are good at finding it.”

Tippets explained there are only four main routes people, including drug smugglers, can take when leaving Yuma. There is Interstate 8, going either east or west, Highway 95 and Highway 78, all of which have checkpoints on them.

While there are some rural roads that people may occasionally take, Tippets said they are, for the most part, usually all patrolled as well.

Wellton Station agents patrolling near Hyder stopped what appeared to be a utility work truck on a rural road after noticing the driver’s suspicious behavior. The driver, a Mexican national with lawful permanent resident status, consented to a vehicle search.

Agents found 251 packages of marijuana in the vehicle’s gas tank. The driver, vehicle and marijuana, weighing more than 700 pounds and worth $353,000, were turned over to the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force.

“It was inside the gas tank. It’s actually something we see on a regular basis,” Tippets said.

“When the agent questioned the driver, it created additional suspicions, so they called a K-9 handler to bring his dog to that location.”

Wellton Station agents patrolling west of Gila Bend apprehended a group of six subjects carrying backpacks filled with marijuana through the desert. The suspects and marijuana, weighing 263 pounds and worth an estimated $131,600, were turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

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.