Euphoricpa
New Member
Brent Whiting
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
WEST PHOENIX - More than three tons of marijuana were seized Friday at a vacant home after a neighbor saw people with firearms moving things into a truck, police said.
Officers confiscated 6,700 pounds with an estimated wholesale value of $3.4 million, police said. Perhaps as much had been hauled away before officers arrived, they said.
Unfortunately, the stash shows that federal authorities have been correct in predicting large seizures because of bumper crops of pot, said Detective Tony Morales, a Phoenix police spokesman. advertisement
"We are seeing extraordinary amounts of marijuana," he said. "The bigger the load, the more danger that is posed to law-enforcement officers and the general public."
Innocent people could be killed in shootouts involving rival gangs doing battle over such amounts, he added.
On March 3, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Nogales station seized more than 4,000 pounds in two vehicles.
No arrests were made in Friday's case, which may be an example of one drug organization trying to rip off another, said Sgt. Lauri Williams, a Phoenix police spokeswoman.
Police were sent to the home in the 8400 block of West Sells Drive after a caller said that people armed with rifles and handguns were loading items into a rental truck, she said.
A vehicle sped off as police arrived and officers spotted a kicked-in front door and two large bales of marijuana in the front yard, she said. There were 307 more bales inside the house, police said.
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
WEST PHOENIX - More than three tons of marijuana were seized Friday at a vacant home after a neighbor saw people with firearms moving things into a truck, police said.
Officers confiscated 6,700 pounds with an estimated wholesale value of $3.4 million, police said. Perhaps as much had been hauled away before officers arrived, they said.
Unfortunately, the stash shows that federal authorities have been correct in predicting large seizures because of bumper crops of pot, said Detective Tony Morales, a Phoenix police spokesman. advertisement
"We are seeing extraordinary amounts of marijuana," he said. "The bigger the load, the more danger that is posed to law-enforcement officers and the general public."
Innocent people could be killed in shootouts involving rival gangs doing battle over such amounts, he added.
On March 3, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Nogales station seized more than 4,000 pounds in two vehicles.
No arrests were made in Friday's case, which may be an example of one drug organization trying to rip off another, said Sgt. Lauri Williams, a Phoenix police spokeswoman.
Police were sent to the home in the 8400 block of West Sells Drive after a caller said that people armed with rifles and handguns were loading items into a rental truck, she said.
A vehicle sped off as police arrived and officers spotted a kicked-in front door and two large bales of marijuana in the front yard, she said. There were 307 more bales inside the house, police said.
