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. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma Sector seized 270 pounds of marijuana Saturday while conducting traffic check operations in Dome Valley, Ariz.

About 3:30 p.m. agents from the Wellton Border Patrol station observed a suspicious utility truck and followed it for a brief time. The driver displayed suspicious behaviors and finally pulled onto a farm road. The agents stopped their vehicle to continue observing traffic on the highway. Moments later the suspicious vehicle reappeared on the road and noticing the vehicle was not displaying license tags the agents initiated a vehicle stop.

During routine questioning, the driver, determined to be a U.S. citizen, became noticeably nervous. A records check of the passenger, also a U.S. citizen, revealed a prior drug conviction. The agents requested the assistance of a Border Patrol K-9 team, which revealed the possible presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A closer inspection of the vehicle revealed a hidden compartment behind the truck’s cab, which contained 19 bundles of marijuana.

Agents placed the driver and passenger under arrest. The individuals and the narcotics, worth an estimated $625,000, were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials.

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.