APRIL 2, 2014
P.C.S.O. Anti-Smuggling Unit recovers 1,173 pounds of marijuana
On Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 10:31 a.m. a detective assigned to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Anti-Smuggling Unit (A.S.U.) was involved in a pursuit which started on Stanfield Rd. and Connelly Rd., in the unincorporated area of Stanfield. The detective originally attempted to stop a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer after he observed the driver commit a traffic violation.
During the pursuit, the driver threw a large bundle, approx. 24 pounds, of raw marijuana from the vehicle. The deputy observed the bundle break open after impacting the roadway. The deputy continued to pursue the vehicle which was fleeing in excess of 90 miles per hour. At one point, the deputy lost visual contact with the vehicle and later discovered it abandoned on Apache Dr. near Yaqui Way. The driver ran from the vehicle and was not located after an extensive search of the area. The vehicle contained 52 bundles of Marijuana which weighed a total of 1,173 pounds, with an estimated street value of $879,750 dollars.
The detective later returned to the location where the driver threw the bundle of marijuana from the vehicle and noticed a majority of it was gone. Approximately 2 pounds of loose marijuana was recovered from the roadway. It is unknown who picked up the marijuana which had been thrown from the vehicle.
The vehicle and marijuana were seized and we are in the process of completing forfeiture paperwork for the vehicle.
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Our Pinal County families still continue to be forced to live with drug and human smuggling and the crimes associated with it as a result of an unsecured border. Could you imagine if these cases were occurring everyday in Washington, D.C.? I imagine then we would finally see some real efforts to secure the border.”
