see also: in August 2007 News Releases:   Border Patrol Agents Seize Drugs at California Checkpoint   Palm Beach, Fla. Welcomes New Tool in Fighting Terror Weapons   Drug Seizure Activity at Border Ports Remains Brisk; El Paso CBP Nabs More Than 2 Tons of Pot   Yuma Border Agents Help Local Police Track 3 Fleeing Burglary Scene   CBP Officers at Laredo, Texas Entry Seize Almost $6 Million in Drugs in Two Seizures   Suspected Smuggling Lookouts Captured in Desert   1st Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Northwest Retires ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Ariz. - An illegal immigrant smuggling more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana in a stolen truck and attempting to evade Border Patrol agents pursuing him rammed a Border patrol vehicle, injuring an agent Sunday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector’s Wellton Border Patrol station returning to the station from the sector’s forward operating location Desert Camp Grip attempted to assist a vehicle that was pulled over on Highway 85 near Gila Bend, Ariz., about 1:30 p.m. As agents approached the vehicle, the driver turned around and sped off heading northbound. Agents pursued the vehicle briefly but terminated the pursuit due to the vehicle’s excessive speed. They contacted Tucson Sector agents from the Ajo Border Patrol station with a description of the vehicle.

About 2:45 p.m., an Ajo agent spotted the vehicle parked in a wash near. The agent and his K-9 partner approached the vehicle on foot, but again the driver sped off nearly hitting the agent. The agent requested back up and reported seeing bundles of marijuana visible in the truck’s bed. As the vehicle sped south on Highway 85 a fellow agent and a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the vehicle but were unable to stop it due to the driver’s excessive speed. Another agent saw the vehicle turn onto a side street and was preparing to search for the individual on foot when the suspect vehicle emerged from a blind spot in the road and rammed the agent’s Border Patrol vehicle causing extensive damage and injuring the agent’s leg. While the Sheriff’s deputy was attempting to assist the injured agent, the smuggler nearly hit the deputy’s vehicle before speeding off again. The deputy and another agent pursued the vehicle to Fundicion and Vananda Streets in city, where the subject fled the scene on foot. Pursuing agents saw the individual climb over a fence and onto a private property, which was the private residence of an off-duty Border Patrol agent. The off-duty agent and his fellow agents were able to take the individual into custody after a brief struggle.

After apprehension, the individual told agents that he has HIV and Tuberculosis and that he suffered abrasions during the activity. He was transported to a Phoenix area hospital for treatment and after release will be transported to the Ajo Station for processing and prosecution for various state and federal criminal charges. The injured agent was also transported to a Phoenix area hospital, where he received treatment for his knee. Three additional agents will seek medical evaluations due to exposure to the diseased man.

The marijuana, worth an estimated $700,000, was turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials and the vehicle, which was reported stolen in May, was turned over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 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.