An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Archived Content
    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.
  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. Footprints in the Desert Lead to Marijuana Load

Footprints in the Desert Lead to Marijuana Load

Release Date
Tue, 03/14/2017

TUCSON, Ariz. – Casa Grande Border Patrol agents arrested five Honduran nationals Sunday morning, near the village of Vaya Chin on the Tohono O’odham Nation, and seized more than 300 pounds of marijuana worth in excess of $150,000

Agents from the Casa Grande Station seized more than 300 pounds of marijuana on the Tohono O'odham Nation
Agents from the Casa Grande Station
seized more than 300 pounds of marijuana
on the Tohono O'odham Nation

The incident occurred in a remote desert area where agents using off-road motorcycles were following footprints along a known smuggling route. Agents followed the footprints to the Sierra Blanca Mountains and came upon 13 bales of marijuana. During a subsequent search of the surrounding area, agents located four men and one male juvenile; all illegally present in the United States.

The bundles of marijuana and the Honduran nationals are being processed per Tucson Sector guidelines.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021