see also: in June 2007 News Releases:   CBP, ATF Join Canadians in Launching Firearms Public Information Campaign Along U.S.-Canadian Border   Marijuana-Embedded Bricks Crumble at El Paso Port   FDA, CBP Advise of Potential Health Risks from Unpasteurized Cheese After Large Cheese Seizures at Laredo Border   CBP Officers Discover Exotic Birds at California Border Station   U.S., New Zealand Establish Joint Trade Security Arrangement   CBP Reminds Pleasure Boaters of Reporting Requirements When Returning from Foreign Locations   California CBP Officers Find Smuggled Persons in Truck Engine Compartment ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Calexico, Calif. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents from the El Centro Sector seized 1,791 pounds of marijuana in two separate incidents. The marijuana is worth $1,432,800.

The largest seizure occurred on June 12, at 3 p.m. when agents assigned to the Calexico Station responded to a stolen, white, Ford pick-up truck with a cover over the cargo bed traveling west on Interstate 8 from the Gray’s Well rest area. The truck entered the interstate through the Imperial Sand Dunes recreational park. CBP Air assisted Border Patrol agents as they attempted to pull over the vehicle. In a desperate attempt to evade arrest, the driver crashed the truck into an Imperial Irrigation District facility located on the All American Canal and absconded back into Mexico.

The stolen vehicle was being used to transport 1,190 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $952,000. Border Patrol agents seized the truck and the marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The second seizure took place on Monday, June 11, when a Mexican national was apprehended attempting to smuggle more than 601 pounds of marijuana.

The smuggler involved in Monday’s incident struck two civilian motorists while trying to escape. He was eventually arrested after crashing into a telephone pole. The marijuana is valued at $480,800.

Acting Chief Patrol Agent Roy Villareal of El Centro Sector stated, “We will combat the aggressive, dangerous tactics of illegal alien and narcotic smugglers with an increased enforcement posture in those areas accessible to illegal vehicle traffic. The safety and security of our community is my paramount concern and that security will depend largely on the Border Patrol’s operational control of the border itself.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.