Border Patrol agents with the Ajo Station arrested a 61-year-old Phoenix man Friday, July 6, after finding more than 1,400 pounds of marijuana, worth in excess of $700,000, concealed in a flatbed trailer at the Arizona 85 immigration checkpoint.
An agent working the primary inspection lane referred the driver of a Ford F-250 utility vehicle for a secondary examination. During the exam, a Border Patrol dog alerted to an odor emitting from the flatbed trailer the vehicle was towing.
Agents examined the trailer and found bundles of narcotics under wood planks on the flatbed. After removing the excavating equipment being hauled on the trailer, agents found 64 bundles of marijuana.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementβs Homeland Security Investigations, along with the marijuana. The truck, equipment and trailer were also seized.
