Smugglers Run: Sherriff’s Office seizes piles of cannabis and ammo off Interstate 8
Mar 7, 2016, 5:59 PM
backpacks found near smugglers (MCSO Photo)
(MCSO Photo)
PHOENIX — Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Detectives arrested 13 drug traffickers carrying marijuana bales and boxes of ammunition near Interstate 8 Monday.
MCSO agents patrolling the highway near mile marker 86 noticed thirteen men dressed in camouflage, carrying large packs walking through the desert. Sheriff’s deputies converged on the men with the help of Border Patrol agents, and all of them attempted to flee, hiding in trees and bushes.
Eventually, all 13 suspects were apprehended. Two were found to be juveniles; the 11 adult suspects were charged with drug trafficking and booked into 4th Avenue Jail in Phoenix.
The suspects were found to be transporting 920 pounds of marijuana and 2100 rounds of ammunition through the desert. MCSO estimated the drug’s street value to be half a million dollars.
This arrest occurred just days after Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s press conference “No Drug Bust Too Small,” where the Sheriff showcased nearly $6 million dollars in drug seizures and announced the arrests of 102 suspected drug peddlers.
At the March 3 press conference, MCSO showed the 53 pounds of heroin, 6 pounds of cocaine and 93 pounds of meth they have taken off the streets.
“The seizure of large amounts of ammunition shows guns and violence continue to be coming into this country from Mexico and needs to be dealt with and stopped,” Arpaio said.
