Customs & Border Protection officers find 960 pounds of pot inside concrete pillars

[Drew27k9]

Customs and Border Protection officers discovered about 960 pounds of marijuana hidden inside concrete pillars in the back of a tractor-trailer Wednesday at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

Officers pulled the semi over for secondary inspection at about 2 p.m., due to the nervous behavior of the 32-year-old Mexican driver and suspicions about the cargo's destination in Colorado, said Brian Levin, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

They pulled out one of the pillars, drilled a hole in it and found a bundle of marijuana. They unloaded 18 crates, 13 of which had concrete pillars. Officers spent the afternoon breaking open the pillars with a forklift and then taking the bundles of marijuana out. By the end of the afternoon, officers had found 51 bundles of marijuana inside the pillar sections.

"Where there is smoke, there's fire," Levin said. When smugglers come through the commercial port of entry, "They are not going to do a little thing. The whole point of using the tractor-trailer is to get bulk in."

The total weight of the load wasn't unusual for port officers, but the concealment strategy was, Levin said. The bundles of marijuana were surrounded by dirt inside the pillars to mask the odor, officers said.

The driver was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will take over the investigation, Levin said.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/175841

[PeterGibons]

Customs and Border Protection officers discovered about 960 pounds of marijuana hidden inside concrete pillars in the back of a tractor-trailer Wednesday at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.

Officers pulled the semi over for secondary inspection at about 2 p.m., due to the nervous behavior of the 32-year-old Mexican driver and suspicions about the cargo's destination in Colorado, said Brian Levin, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

They pulled out one of the pillars, drilled a hole in it and found a bundle of marijuana. They unloaded 18 crates, 13 of which had concrete pillars. Officers spent the afternoon breaking open the pillars with a forklift and then taking the bundles of marijuana out. By the end of the afternoon, officers had found 51 bundles of marijuana inside the pillar sections.

"Where there is smoke, there's fire," Levin said. When smugglers come through the commercial port of entry, "They are not going to do a little thing. The whole point of using the tractor-trailer is to get bulk in."

The total weight of the load wasn't unusual for port officers, but the concealment strategy was, Levin said. The bundles of marijuana were surrounded by dirt inside the pillars to mask the odor, officers said.

The driver was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will take over the investigation, Levin said.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/175841

The driver was arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will take over the investigation and them deport him back to Mexico so he can find another truck to drive over.:D

[jmac_52]

Dammit! Now I'll have to find a new supplier for my concrete columns.

:rolleyes: