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Pot packages found inside patio furniture at port
On Thursday, a California resident attempted to smuggle 94 pounds of marijuana into the United States in an unusual way: inside cement patio furniture, according to a news release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"It actually was built around the packages (of marijuana)," said Teresa Small, public affairs officer with the port.
CBP officers at the San Luis Port of Entry discovered the marijuana in the furniture after the driver, a 30-year-old man, behaved inconsistently.
The driver was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation, according to the release.
Small said they've seen this smuggling method before, but it is a little unusual.
"It's more of a rarity than practice," she said.
Also within the last several days, officers at the port seized 79 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of just more than $2 million.
The cocaine was seized from a Jeep Cherokee, and the driver, a 28-year-old woman, and her passenger were arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further investigation.
Small said the amount of cocaine is unusual for the port.
According to the release, officers at the port also seized a total of 533 pounds of marijuana during the last several days in a total of four additional, separate stops. The marijuana, including the marijuana found in the patio furniture, has a total estimated street value of $1.5 million.
Yuma U.S. Border Patrol agents also seized 2,390 pounds of marijuana close to midnight Friday after noticing two Ford trucks crossing the border from Mexico east of Yuma, the patrol said in a separate release.
Responding agents found the vehicles abandoned near the border with multiple bundles of marijuana. Two occupants from the second truck were apprehended after agents tracked them across the desert. The suspected smugglers had cut an 8-foot section out of the border fence in order to drive across the boundary, the release said.
The marijuana had an estimated street value of over $1.9 million. The two individuals, the trucks and the drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the release said.
