Pubdate: Fri, 25 Aug 2017
Source: Florida Times-Union (FL)
Copyright: 2017 The Florida Times-Union
Contact:  http://www.jacksonville.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/155

GIANT MARIJUANA BUNDLE LAUNCHED OVER U.S.-MEXICO BORDER FENCE

PHOENIX - Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a
nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the
border fence.

Surveillance video on Wednesday captured the large package launching
through the air over the fence from Mexico to the U.S. Agents on the
ground found a large, plastic-wrapped bundle worth about $48,000.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Dixon said drug smugglers are increasingly
launching massive bundles of pot over the border fence, posing a
danger to nearby residents and businesses because of their weight. She
said she knew of one incident in which a bundle went through the roof
of a dog house.

Dixon said she didn't have handy the number of such cases over the
last few years.

"Not only is it illegal activity but it's extremely dangerous to the
public," she said.

It's unclear what smugglers used to launch this particular package,
but in the past they've used home-made catapults and air cannons.

Sending a bundle that heavy over a fence that stands between 18 and 23
feet high would require a powerful launcher. Dixon said agents can
sometimes hear the packages being launched.

The area where the marijuana landed is near some businesses, but the
Border Patrol hasn't reported any damage from Wednesday's incident nor
have agents made any arrests.

Dixon said she was unaware of an investigation by Mexican authorities
into where the bundle may have come from on the Mexico side.

Last year, Mexican police in Agua Prieta, Mexico, which sits on the
border with Douglas, found a stolen van that had been outfitted with a
10-foot air cannon to shoot projectiles into the United States.

Images provided by Mexican authorities showed the black van with hole
cut in its roof and a cannon in the back that could fire projectiles.
Authorities also said they found an air compressor apparently used to
launch packages.

The Border Patrol has said in the past that the most common form of
throwing bundles over the border fence involves softball-sized
marijuana packages that sometimes land in residential backyards.
Smugglers pay people on the U.S. to retrieve the packages, which are
then sent around the country.

High-pressure air cannons can launch much heavier packages. Smugglers
have also used trebuchets, a catapult-type launch that can be made out
of wood.

Despite smugglers' creative methods to cross drugs into the U.S.,
marijuana seizures have dropped significantly in the Southwest over
the last several years.

Agents seized 2.5 million pounds at the Southwest border in 2011. By
last year, that number had dropped to 1.3 million pounds.

The Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona, also saw a steep drop
in pot seizures, from 1 million pounds in 2011 to 728,000 pounds last
year.
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MAP posted-by: Matt