Pot seized from fake Border Patrol cars
From Terry Frieden
CNN
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One of the bogus cars
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sharp-eyed U.S. officials foiled an innovative attempt to smuggle almost a ton of marijuana into the United States by packing it into two sport utility vehicles disguised as Border Patrol vehicles.
Officials said agents from the Border Patrol and Customs intercepted the vehicles, which were emblazoned with the agency's logos, before dawn Wednesday as they crossed into Arizona near Paominas.
They found 1,900 pounds of marijuana in the a 2000 Dodge Durango and a 2001 Ford Expedition. Both vehicles had government license plates.
Authorities said it was the first time they have caught drug traffickers using fake government vehicles to smuggle drugs into the United States.
One of the drivers, an undocumented Mexican, was arrested, officials said, but a second driver escaped.
Customs Service and Border Patrol officials said the joint operation was a sign of improved cooperation between the two agencies, who now work together in the new Department of Homeland Security.
"That teamwork means bad news for the bad guys," said Chief Border Patrol Agent David Aguilar in Tucson.
