Border Patrol agents from Casa Grande Station’s Horse Patrol Unit tracked down four smugglers on the Tohono O’odham nation early Monday and seized six bales of marijuana weighing almost 155 pounds combined.
An agent operating a mobile surveillance vehicle reported seeing multiple individuals approximately 15 miles north of the border, carrying large backpacks suspected of being marijuana. The agent then directed other agents on horseback to the smugglers’ location.
When the Horse Patrol agents arrived on scene, they encountered four men – two Hondurans and two Mexicans – but had to back track to find the bundles abandoned in thick brush.
Once agents confirmed no additional suspects nor contraband were in the area, they transported the suspects and marijuana, worth an estimated $77,500, to the Casa Grande Station for processing. The four suspects will be charged for immigration violations in addition to contraband smuggling.