[AZTOY]

Pot seized from fake Border Patrol cars

From Terry Frieden
CNN
Thursday, February 20, 2003 Posted: 1:15 PM EST (1815 GMT)
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/US/Southwest/02/20/border.bust/story.patrol.back.jpg
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.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Southwest/02/20/border.bust/index.html

[foghornl]

Fed/State or Mexican Gov't plates? Can't tell from the pic.

[UnknownSailor]

US Government plates. I see them all the time.

[Greg L]

:eek:

Got to give them a few points for ingenuity.

Greg

[Ebbtide]

The sad part is that they have probably been doing this for 15 years and finally got caught.

[eagle10]

A marijuana bust that was a 'joint' operation between agencies?
Sounds like a smoke screen to me. :D

eagle10

[Chris Rhines]

Clever!

- Chris

[Coronach]

Both vehicles had government license plates.Uh oh. :rolleyes:

Mike

[0007]

Gotta love it "undocumented alien". Anywhere else in the world that's an "ILLEGAL ALIEN", dumbo... An aside, I guess he had forgotten the ID card that mexican consulates are giving to all the illegals to carry over the border. They probably would have been turned loose by INS and allowed to go on their way if they had had them.

[ahenry]

An aside, I guess he had forgotten the ID card that mexican consulates are giving to all the illegals to carry over the border. They probably would have been turned loose by INS and allowed to go on their way if they had had them. Yeah, good call, the INS has been handing out IDs to everybody. :rolleyes: For my aside, this was an easily spotted fake, they (BP, Customs) were in fact waiting for them. The one person captured just gave up and the other one ran. He got away despite some pretty crazy chasing and tracking.

[CampX]

"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."

Sweet man, a 'joint' operation.....I know, bad pun, but hey...