During two smuggling attempts Tuesday, Border Patrol agents seized $652,500 worth of marijuana and arrested one U.S. citizen attempting to smuggle two illegal immigrants around the Wellton Station checkpoint on Interstate 8 east of Yuma.
Border Patrol agents first received assistance from Mother Nature when a vehicle attempted to slip more than 1,300 pounds of marijuana into the United States through the international boundary fence. Agents discovered an opening cut into the fence, in a western section of the Sonoran Desert, and followed tire tracks approximately two miles to a vehicle stuck in the sand. The driver, a male Mexican national, was arrested while attempting to abscond from agents.
The drugs, vehicle and suspect were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.
In the second incident, agents stopped a vehicle driving through Dome Valley during an apparent attempt to circumvent the Wellton Station checkpoint on Interstate 8. Agents arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen, and two Mexican men illegally present in the U.S.
The driver will be presented for prosecution for alien smuggling. The Mexican nationals will be processed per Yuma Sector guidelines.