Crime & Safety

$3.6M Worth of Pot Intercepted at Checkpoint

The Border Patrol found more than 7,000 pounds of marijuana in a truck trying to pass the Interstate 15 station south of Temecula and Murrieta.

The Border Patrol intercepted more than $3.6 million worth of marijuana at the checkpoint south of Temecula and Murrieta.

A U.S. citizen was having his white 2003 Freightliner tractor-trailer through checkpoint around 9:30 p.m. Monday when he aroused agents' suspicion.

"During inspection, agents became suspicious of the man’s nervous demeanor and referred him for a secondary inspection," said Agent Scott Simon in an emailed announcement Tuesday. "A Border Patrol K-9 team performed a cursory inspection resulting in a positive alert to the trailer."

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Officials searched the trailer and found 300 bundles of marijuana weighing a total of 7,328 pounds, which is worth about $3,664,085 on the street, Simon said.

The smuggler, whose name was withheld by the Border Patrol, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the truck was confiscated by the

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