[Skip_To_Main_Content] [DHS_Seal_Navigates_to_CBP_homepage] [CBP.gov_Logo_Navigates_to_CBP_homepage] [ S E A R C H ] [GO]   Abo  Newsroom  Border  Trade  Travel  Careers   CBP   Security   Newsroom Home  /  Newsroom  /  CBP News_Releases  /  Alerts CBP_News [Printer_Friendly_Page_Link_Icon] Releases see also: Multimedia [right arrow] in CBP News Releases: Gallery   Border_Patrol_Agent_Apprehends_Armed_Robbery_Suspects Fact_Sheets   Drug_Smuggler_Bagged_in_El_Paso,_CBP_Officers_Find_Marijuana Publications in_Purses Commissioner   CBP_Announces_Relocation_of_FAST_Enrollment_Center_to_SENTRI Messages, Office_at_Veteran’s_Bridge Speeches_and   Suspected_Smuggling_Tunnel_Discovered_Near_Border_in_Otay Statements Mesa Congressional   CBP_Officers_at_Pharr/Hidalgo_International_Bridge_Seize Testimony Close_to_$1.3_Million_in_Cocaine_–_3_Arrested Press   CBP_Officers_at_Brownsville_Port_of_Entry_Arrest_Man_Wanted Officers on_Money_Laundering_Charges News   Cargo_Drug_Bust_Yields_CBP_Officers_Working_at_El_Paso_Port Highlights of_Entry_3,736_Pounds_of_Marijuana [Report ...more Suspicious [right arrow] on cbp.gov: Activity to   CBP_News_Releases 1-800-BE-   Press_Officers ALERT]   Video:_Border_Patrol_Chases_Down_Trucks;_Seizes_2_Tons_of [Whats_New_In Marijuana Newsroom] Strategic Effort Defeats $3.2 Million Smuggling Attempt in_Newsroom (Thursday, February 19, 2009) contacts_for_this_news_release Yuma, Ariz. – Utilizing a strategic combination of infrastructure, technology, and personnel, United States Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Station apprehend two vehicles and seize more than two tons of marijuana. At about 9:36 a.m., this morning a Yuma Sector Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS) camera operator observed three vehicles driving east from the International boundary near County 14th Street. The Colorado River serves as the International Boundary between the United States and Mexico in that area. The three vehicles then drove to the Salinity Canal bridge at County 14 ½ street, where several subjects got out of the vehicles and began cutting the lock on the Border Patrol’s vehicular access gate. [Rear of a pickup truck filled with bundles of marijuana.] The Salinity Canal, a large concrete structure constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation, parallels the International Boundary in this area. When the gate had been breached, the third vehicle returned to Mexico utilizing the same route by which it had entered. The two remaining vehicles then drove east across the bridge, and were immediately followed by a CBP Air and Marine helicopter, which was able to guide responding Border Patrol agents to the exact location of the vehicles. [Agents find 327 bundles of marijuana inside a pickup truck.] As Border Patrol agents responded, the two pickups attempted to return to Mexico at County 11 ½ Street, but found their progress blocked by yet another of the Border Patrol’s vehicular access gates. (RVSS) camera operators observed four individuals jump out of the two vehicles and run approximately 30 feet to the nearby Colorado River with Border Patrol agents hot on their heels. Responding police officers from Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico managed to apprehend two of the subjects several minutes later. After a comprehensive search of the area, Border Patrol agents retrieved a total of 327 bundles of marijuana from the two vehicles, with a combined weight of 4,010 pounds. ( Video:_Border_Patrol_Chases_Down_Trucks;_Seizes_2 Tons_of_Marijuana ) The marijuana, which has an estimated street value of $3,208,000.00, and both of the vehicles were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. Contacts For This News Release Yuma Sector no address available at this time Public Affairs Office Phone: (928) 341-6520 CBP Headquarters Phone: (202) 344-1770or Office of Public Affairs (800) 826-1471 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Fax: (202) 344-1393 Room 3.4A Washington, DC 20229 [go_to_previous]prev | next[go_to_next]     (23 back_to_CBP News_Releases How_to What's_NewContactsPortsQuestionsFormsSitemapEEO | FOIA Department_of   Use_the | Privacy_Statement | Get_Plugins | En_Español Homeland_Security   Website USA.gov   Featured RSS Links   Inquiries (877) CBP-5511   |   International Callers (703) 526-4200   |   TTD (866) 880- 6582   |   Media Only (202) 344-1780