see also: in November 2008:   Thanksgiving Day Marijuana Seizure Yields 450 Pounds at Douglas Port of Entry   Registered Sex Offender Intercepted by CBP at Pacific Highway Entry   CBP Officers Seize 145 Pounds of Ecstasy at Vermont Entry   CBP Officers in Boston Seize Undeclared $19,300   CBP Advises Travelers of Temporary Construction at Otay Mesa Border Crossing   CBP Officers in Niagara Falls Arrest Man Wanted in California   Customs and Border Protection Officers in New York Arrest Imposter ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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San Luis, Ariz. – An apparent smuggling attempt ended early this morning in the death of an unidentified man after his marijuana-laden aircraft crashed into a local field.

About 7:15 a.m., field workers reported a small aircraft crashed in a lettuce field about 150 yards east of County 21 ½ Street and the Levee Road, north of San Luis, Ariz., and about one mile east of the Colorado River.

The San Luis Police Department, Somerton Fire Department, Border Patrol, and Yuma County Sheriff’s Department responded and discovered that the downed aircraft was an “ultra light-style” motorized glider.

Personnel on scene determined that the aircraft’s operator, the sole occupant, died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Several bundles of marijuana were visibly strapped to the aircraft.

The body, aircraft, and what was determined to be 141 pounds of marijuana are in the custody of and under investigation by the San Luis Police Department.

Desperate smuggling attempts such as this incident demonstrate the increased level of frustration smuggler organizations are experiencing as a result of the efforts by the Border Patrol to secure our nations borders between the ports of entry. Added personnel, technology and tactical infrastructure have proven to greatly reduce illegal cross-border activity in many areas, notably in the Yuma Sector which has seen a 77 percent decrease in illegal cross border activity.

This is the second known smuggling attempt of this nature in two months. Border Patrol and CBP air interdiction agents in the Tucson Sector last month apprehended a man attempting to fly marijuana into 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 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.