Rantburg.com
Mexican Policia Federal units seized 1.4 metric tons of marijuana in two seizures in northern Mexico according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of Milenio, a Policia Federal regional security division unit was operating a checkpoint on the Mexican Highway 40D in Coahuila state between Saltillo, Coahuila and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon when a truck was stopped and searched. Inside the van police found 84 packages of marijuana in a hidden compartment totalling 1,344 kilograms.
The truck had originated from Torreon, Coahuila. The driver, identified in the news account as José Luis Aranda Contreras, 49, was detained at the scene.
Meanwhile in Sonora state, a Policia Federal unit, part of a regional security division operating a checkpoint on Sonora State highway 37, between Carborca and Puerto Peñasco, inspected a Ford Ranger pickup truck with three individuals aboard finding marijuana hidden in the tires.
According to the news report which appeared on the website of El Sol de Mexico news daily, the drugs were arranged in a metal container in a circular pattern. The total amount seized was 68 kilograms.
Raul Gonzalez Santos, 31, and Aleyda Ibarra Acedo, 30, were detained at the scene, while an unidentified minor was also in the truck was presented to the public ministry.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com