BP arrests nine suspected drug smugglers

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested nine suspected drug smugglers and seized 357 pounds of marijuana Thursday.

The incident happened when agents out of the Wellton Station discovered a group of nine people allegedly smuggling pot inside the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. The contraband was worth an estimated $178,500.

On Wednesday, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector's Wellton Station arrested a group of five drug smugglers a mile south of Interstate 8 near mile marker 96. According to the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, the group was carrying a combined 245 pounds of marijuana in backpacks, which was worth an estimated $122,500.