Semi Truck Yields More Than $250,000 in Marijuana

Blythe, Calif. - U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Yuma sector seized more than $250,000 in marijuana and arrested a suspected drug smuggler at the checkpoint on Highway 78 near Palo Verde on Thursday.

At about 5:30 p.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the Blythe station encountered a white semi-tractor trailer at the checkpoint. A Border Patrol canine team alerted to the semi, indicating the likely presence of concealed illicit contraband.

Blythe station Border Patrol agents found 112 plastic-wrapped bundles hidden beneath the sleeper bed of a semi-tractor trailer at the Highway 78 checkpoint near Palo Verde, Calif. on Thursday.

Agents referred the tractor trailer for secondary inspection where they uncovered 112 plastic-wrapped bundles of marijuana hidden beneath the sleeper bed in the cab of the truck. The driver, a 54-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested.

The packages of marijuana weighed a combined 322 pounds with an estimated street value of $257,600.

The driver, semi and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

To report suspicious activity, contact the Yuma sector Border Patrol’s toll free telephone number at 1-866-999-8727.