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, Ariz.— Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector seized more than 565 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $452,249.60 Saturday morning.

About 6 a.m. Saturday, a Yuma Station Border Patrol agent detected a vehicle crossing along the Colorado River Trail near the Andrade, Calif. port of entry. The agent alerted other Border Patrol agents working the Andrade area to look out for a suspicious Jeep leaving the river area.

Moments later, agents observed a Jeep Cherokee leave the river area and head north on Andrade Road. Agents attempted to intercept the Jeep, but the driver of the vehicle refused to stop. The driver attempted to evade agents, making an illegal U-turn and heading back into the area near the river until coming to a stop after driving into heavy brush.

The driver and passenger of the vehicle, both illegal aliens, attempted to abscond into the brush but were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents. A search of the vehicle uncovered approximately 40 bundles of marijuana with a combined weight of more than 565 pounds.

The vehicle, narcotics, and driver were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials. The passenger in the vehicle remains in Border Patrol custody pending prosecution and removal from the United States.

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.