The San Luis port of entry had its highest single marijuana seizure Thursday - at 3,043 pounds - a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said in a Friday news release. The 1 1/2 tons of marijuana were seized from an apparently empty commercial tractor trailer after officers noted the driver acting suspicious during routine questioning, Officer Brian Levin said. Once drug dog Ben picked up the odor of marijuana in the trailer, officers used the X-ray system to find a hidden compartment stuffed with 182 bundles with a street value of $5 million, Levin said. The driver, a 45-year-old U.S. citizen whom Levin did not name, was turned over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement while the drugs, his truck and trailer were seized, Levin said. He said including the Thursday bust, officers at the San Luis port of entry have seized 3,695 pounds of marijuana and aborted 25 smuggling attempts since Oct. 1. [end]
City Has Become 'Major, Major Stash House Area' You may be living next to a stash house and not know it. With a record 1.2 million pounds of marijuana confiscated in Arizona from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30 - nearly half of it in Pima County - Tucson has developed a thriving business as a distribution hub. The area is a way station where marijuana is stashed until it is moved to its ultimate destination, often on the East Coast. "It's just a major, major stash house area," Counter Narcotics Alliance Sgt. Helen Hritz said of the Tucson area. "There can be 11,000 pounds in one house." [continues 999 words]
