1 Ton of Marijuana, 30-Foot Boat Found Abandoned on Calif. Beach
Police in California are dealing with yet another report of a large quantity of marijuana. This time it washed up on the shore of a beach in southern California as authorities look to eliminate marijuana smuggling in the state.
Santa Barbara County authorities came across a stash of marijuana valued at over $4 million. It was happened to be located next to a boat that had run aground at Arroyo Quemada Beach.
Police officials estimated the marijuana weighed more than 2,000 pounds and each of the drug bundles was wrapped in plastic bags and secured with tape.
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Authorities in Santa Barbara County recovered the marijuana as well as a 30-foot "Panga" style boat that was suspected of transporting the drugs, the sheriff's department said in a press release.
"Sheriff's detectives located a significant amount of evidence that was consistent with marijuana smuggling activities, including trash and debris that was strewn about the beach and nearby coastal access trails," the statement read.
Authorities revealed that they had removed the drugs from the beach and were currently testing the drugs as well as other pieces of evidence that was recovered at the scene.
As the United States continues to increase border patrols, drug cartels in Mexico have been developing alternate methods of getting their product into the U.S.
Authorities recently recovered "a powerful improvised cannon used to hurl packets of marijuana across a border fence into California" that had been found on several occasions in the last few months.
The cannon was "made up of a plastic pipe and a crude metal tank that used compressed air from the engine of an old car," according to KWTV. It was capable of shooting 30 pound packages filled with drugs over 500 feet across the border.
Authorities stated that the canisters of marijuana were discovered in a field close to where the Colorado River crosses the U.S.-Mexico border. The canisters are thought to have arrived in the field after being launched about 500 feet into the U.S. using a pneumatic cannon.
During that particular incident, officials revealed that they recovered nearly 85 pounds of marijuana from the canisters and had pegged the street value for that amount of pot near $42,500. Mexican authorities were notified after the drugs and canisters were found.
Border Patrol agents that cover the area near the Arizona-California border are forced to adapt and move resources as the drug cartels invent new ways of getting their drugs across the border, according to police.
