see also: in November 2007 News Releases:   CBP Officers Seize 50 Pounds of Cocaine, Three Pounds of Heroin, Guns & Ammo, Arrest 22 For Illegal Entry and Arrest 20 Fugitives During Two-Week Holiday Span at Laredo Port of Entry   Border Patrol Agents Arrest Convicted Sex Offender   Border Patrol Seizes One Ton of Marijuana at Sierra Blanca Checkpoint   Border Patrol and Coast Guard Sign Cooperation Agreement   CBP Seized Cocaine Concealed in Suitcase   Border Patrol Agents Seize 5,450 Pounds of Marijuana Near Freer ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Tucson, Ariz. — Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Tucson Sector seized more than 4,687 pounds of marijuana in three incidents over the last 24 hours.

The first seizure took place at around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. Agents assigned to the Ajo Border Patrol Station encountered a pickup truck traveling north on Federal Route 34 on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. As agents drove up behind the vehicle, it sped off into the desert at mile marker 32 near the village of Hickiwan. Following the tire tracks into the darkness, agents discovered the truck abandoned and filled with 61 bundles of marijuana weighing 1,413 pounds.

A second seizure occurred at approximately 10:00 pm. on November 28, 2007, when Border Patrol agents from the Casa Grande Station, working near San Miguel village on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, spotted two trucks traveling north from the International Boundary on Federal Route 19. A short time later, the trucks absconded back across the border after briefly pulling off the roadway outside the village limits. When agents responded to the area where the trucks stopped along Federal Route 19, tire tracks led to55 bundles of marijuana weighing 1,142 pounds.

A final seizure was made early this morning near mile post 5 on Federal Route 19, near the village of San Miguel on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. Agents from the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station responded to a call for assistance from the Tohono O’odham Police Department. A resident had called 911 to report that a large amount of marijuana had been hidden on his property. Agents arrived on scene at 7:00 a.m. and discovered 86 bundles of marijuana weighing 2,132 pounds.

Tucson Sector agents seized a total of 202 bundles of marijuana in the three incidents, which had a total weight of in excess of 4,687 lbs. The marijuana has an estimated street value of $3.7 million.

The marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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.