see also: in February 2008:   Marijuana Seized by CBP Officers at San Luis, Ariz. Port   Border Patrol in Tucson Seizes 4 Tons of Marijuana   CBP Officers in Philadelphia Discover Venomous 8-Legged Stowaway   Arizona Event to Assist Border Patrol Applicants   Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Announce International Initiative Against Traffickers in Counterfeit Network Hardware   Border Patrol Apprehends 62 Illegal Migrants Hiding in Arizona House   CBP Officers in Calif. Find Smuggled Women in Truck Engine Compartment ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Yuma, Ariz. – Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents recovered a stolen vehicle, seized 826 pounds of marijuana and arrested the driver, after he fled on foot Monday.

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Wellton Station were patrolling Highway 85 near Gila Bend, Ariz. when they encountered a 2001 Ford Windstar. Upon seeing the agents, the driver, Jesus Salas-Lizarraga, bailed out of the vehicle and ran into the desert. While apprehending the driver, agents discovered a second vehicle, a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer that had been abandoned.A search of the Windstar revealed five bundles of marijuana weighing 339 pounds. In the Trailblazer they discovered 23 bundles of marijuana that weighted 487 pounds. The estimated total value of the marijuana was more than $660,000. A record check of the Trailblazer revealed that it was stolen out of San Diego, Calif.

Record checks revealed that Jesus Salas-Lizarraga, driver of the Windstar, had been previously deported from the United States. He has also been previously arrested for armed robbery with a deadly weapon and vehicle theft. He is being prosecuted by the United States Border Patrol.

The marijuana and Trailblazer were turned over to the Maricopa County Narcotics Task Force and Yuma Sector Border Patrol seized the Windstar.

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.