see also: in October 2007 News Releases:   Cocaine Smuggler Tries To Trick El Paso CBP Officers by Hiding Drugs in Car Body   Border Patrol Agents in Texas Seize Marijuana Worth $1 Million Hidden Under Watermelons   Fingerprint Check Allows Border Patrol to Arrest Murder Suspect   Border Patrol Texas Task Force Seizes 500 Pounds of Marijuana   CBP Officers at Mail Facility Find Marijuana in Cement Statues, Opium   Tecate, Calif. Cargo Processing Port to Resume Operations Wednesday Morning   CBP at Newark Airport Discovers Man with Fraudulent Documents, False Claim to U.S. Citizenship ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Arizona – Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma, Ariz. station seized a loaded handgun, three duffle bags full of marijuana and an SUV during a foiled smuggling attempt Saturday.

An agent utilizing night-vision equipment mounted on a mobile ground surveillance radar system observed a vehicle traveling south toward the All-American Canal in Andrade, Calif. The agent witnessed several subjects come up from the canal and load several objects into the vehicle before the driver pulled away. Immediately, the agent operating the device alerted other agents in the area that the vehicle was heading northbound. Agents were able to stop the driver only after deploying a controlled tire deflation device.

Agents took the driver, a U.S. citizen from Yuma, into custody without incident. A search of the vehicle, a 1996 Jeep Cherokee, revealed a loaded handgun in the passenger compartment, as well as three duffel bags full of marijuana with a combined weight of 124 pounds. The estimated street value of the pot is $99,000. The drugs, weapon and vehicle were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials.

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 the 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.