Mesa man accused of smuggling 1,600 pounds of marijuana at border

PHOENIX – Border agents in Arizona arrested a Mesa man and a Mexican woman after they were caught hauling nearly a ton of marijuana while trying to enter the U.S. on Wednesday, authorities said.

After being alerted by a drug-sniffing dog, officers found 1,614 pounds of marijuana stashed in a RV trailer being pulled by a GMC truck, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday in a press release.

The incident occurred at the Lukeville Port of Entry, which connects Mexican Federal Highway 8 with Arizona State Route 85.

Agents seized the drugs, truck and trailer and turned over the unidentified 42-year-old male driver and 29-year-old female passenger to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The marijuana was wrapped into 135 brick-like packages that were hidden under the floorboards of the trailer.

CBP estimated the drugs’ value at more than $484,000.

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