Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Mexican security forces seized at least 105 tonnes of US-bound marijuana in the border city of Tijuana on Monday, by far the biggest pot bust in the country in recent years. Soldiers and police grabbed the drugs in pre-dawn raids in three neighbourhoods after police arrested 11 people following a shootout, army Gen Alfonso Duarte Mujica said at a news conference.
The marijuana was found wrapped in 10,000 packages, which were displayed to journalists by soldiers in masks. Duarte said the drug had an estimated street value in Mexico of 4.2 billion pesos, about $340 million. Duarte said authorities were still counting and weighing the packages and the amount could increase. He said the drugs – wrapped in different colours and labelled with apparently coded phrases and pictures that included Homer Simpson – would be incinerated immediately after the weighing and counting is completed. The bust began when Tijuana municipal police on patrol came under fire from gunmen in a convoy of vehicles, Duarte said. One police officer and one suspect were injured.
Police arrested 11 people who were travelling in the convoy and called the army and state police for reinforcements, Duarte said. He said the detainees led the security forces to three different neighbourhoods in the city, which is across the border from San Diego, California. The drugs were found stored in tractor trailers and houses. Duarte said local criminal gangs were gathering the drugs to smuggle into the United States. He did not identify any of the gangs or say where the marijuana originated.
Although Mexican drug cartels smuggle marijuana from South America, the drug is increasingly produced in Mexico. Cannabis production in Mexico increased 35 percent to 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) in 2009, from 8,900 hectares (21,991 acres) the previous year, according to the US State Department’s 2010 International Narcotics Control report. The report attributed the increase to drug cartel efforts to “diminish reliance on foreign suppliers.” The Tijuana bust dwarfed marijuana seizures of recent years. Major pot seizures this year in Tijuana and other parts of the country have amounted to about a dozen tonnes each.
Before this seizure, soldiers in Baja California state, where Tijuana is located, had confiscated a total of 115 tonnes of marijuana this year. The seizure comes as overall marijuana confiscation and crop eradication has dropped in Mexico. Security forces seized 1,385 tonnes of marijuana in 2009, down from a yearly average of 2,000 tonnes in previous years, according to the US report. It said Mexico eradicated 14,135 hectares (34,927 acres) of cannabis in the first 11 months of last year, compared to 18,663 hectares (46,116 acres) in all of 2008. The report said the decline comes as Mexican security forces focus more on hard drugs like methamphetamines – but also as resources are increasingly deployed to confront drug cartel violence.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dailytimes.com
Copyright: 2010 Daily Times
Contact: Daily Times: Serving the Texas Hill Country since 1910: Serving the Texas Hill Country since 1910
Website: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
The marijuana was found wrapped in 10,000 packages, which were displayed to journalists by soldiers in masks. Duarte said the drug had an estimated street value in Mexico of 4.2 billion pesos, about $340 million. Duarte said authorities were still counting and weighing the packages and the amount could increase. He said the drugs – wrapped in different colours and labelled with apparently coded phrases and pictures that included Homer Simpson – would be incinerated immediately after the weighing and counting is completed. The bust began when Tijuana municipal police on patrol came under fire from gunmen in a convoy of vehicles, Duarte said. One police officer and one suspect were injured.
Police arrested 11 people who were travelling in the convoy and called the army and state police for reinforcements, Duarte said. He said the detainees led the security forces to three different neighbourhoods in the city, which is across the border from San Diego, California. The drugs were found stored in tractor trailers and houses. Duarte said local criminal gangs were gathering the drugs to smuggle into the United States. He did not identify any of the gangs or say where the marijuana originated.
Although Mexican drug cartels smuggle marijuana from South America, the drug is increasingly produced in Mexico. Cannabis production in Mexico increased 35 percent to 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) in 2009, from 8,900 hectares (21,991 acres) the previous year, according to the US State Department’s 2010 International Narcotics Control report. The report attributed the increase to drug cartel efforts to “diminish reliance on foreign suppliers.” The Tijuana bust dwarfed marijuana seizures of recent years. Major pot seizures this year in Tijuana and other parts of the country have amounted to about a dozen tonnes each.
Before this seizure, soldiers in Baja California state, where Tijuana is located, had confiscated a total of 115 tonnes of marijuana this year. The seizure comes as overall marijuana confiscation and crop eradication has dropped in Mexico. Security forces seized 1,385 tonnes of marijuana in 2009, down from a yearly average of 2,000 tonnes in previous years, according to the US report. It said Mexico eradicated 14,135 hectares (34,927 acres) of cannabis in the first 11 months of last year, compared to 18,663 hectares (46,116 acres) in all of 2008. The report said the decline comes as Mexican security forces focus more on hard drugs like methamphetamines – but also as resources are increasingly deployed to confront drug cartel violence.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: dailytimes.com
Copyright: 2010 Daily Times
Contact: Daily Times: Serving the Texas Hill Country since 1910: Serving the Texas Hill Country since 1910
Website: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
