The second-largest seizure of marijuana in Nogales history was made this past weekend by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who found 2 1/2 tons hidden among watermelons in a tractor-trailer.
Officers screening commercial shipments about 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mariposa port of entry in western Nogales noticed a problem with the tractor- trailer and suspected there could be drugs inside, said Brian Levin, an agency spokesman. A drug-sniffing dog hit on the trailer as well, prompting agents to begin a thorough search, he said.
They ran the tractor-trailer through an X-ray machine and spotted anomalies in the contents. As officers unloaded the containers of watermelons, they found 200 bundles of marijuana.
The 5,191 pounds of marijuana had an estimated value of $2.9 million, using figures from the National Drug Intelligence Center. The marijuana was seized by Customs and Border Protection.
The driver, a 46-year-old man from Nogales, Sonora, was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The largest marijuana seizure at Nogales occurred on June 2, 2007, when officers discovered 6,160 pounds hidden in pallets of tomatoes in a tractor-trailer.
