see also: in April 2008:   U. S. Customs and Border Protection Seizes $1.3 Million Worth of Counterfeit Cigarettes   Border Patrol Launches Rhode Island Search   Border Patrol Agent Search Launches in Atlanta   Two Weeks = Two Tons of Marijuana Seized at Arizona Port of Entry   CBP Officers in Texas Find $3 Million Worth of Dope in 'Empty' Sea Container   New Jersey CBP Officers Make $4 Million Heroin Candy Bar Bust   Border Patrol Agents Locate More Than Half Ton of Marijuana ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Ariz. – Border Patrol agents assigned to Wellton Station seized 79 bundles of marijuana in a smuggling load valued at over $1.2 million, Sunday night.

Approximately 8 p.m., agents patrolling in a remote desert area 25 miles southeast of Tacna, Ariz., found evidence of an illegal vehicle entry on a road leading north from the international boundary. Agents followed tire tracks for about 10 miles until they veered off-road in an eastbound direction. After tracking the vehicle for about a mile, the agents encountered a white Chevrolet Avalanche that had become stuck in soft sand. Agents approached the truck and discovered 79 bundles of marijuana inside the vehicle along with two sets of footprints heading in a northeastern direction.

At 9:45 p.m., a CBP Air & Marine helicopter pilot located the two fleeing subjects attempting to hide in some brush about a mile and a half from the vehicle. Border Patrol agents responded and apprehended the pair.

The two subjects were determined to be citizens and nationals of Mexico illegally present in the U.S. The white Chevrolet Avalanche was reported stolen out of Calexico, Calif.

The 79 bundles of marijuana had a total weight of about 1,518 pounds with an estimated street value of $1,214,296.00.

The narcotics and smugglers were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The stolen vehicle was turned over to the Yuma County sheriff’s office.

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.