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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 211 pounds of marijuana worth with an estimated street value $343,000


ladder provided a drug smuggler with a novel way to conceal his contraband Tuesday at the border.Unfortunately for the smuggler who attempted to travel through San Luis port of entry with the marijuana, the new method wasn't as crafty in practice as it might have seemed in theory. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 211 pounds of marijuana worth with an estimated street value $343,000 in two hollowed-out steel extension ladders, according to the CBP."This is the first time we've encountered this type of concealment," says Brian Levin, CBP spokesman in Tucson.The marijuana-filled ladders were being transported on the roof of a 1998 Dodge Ram van by a 40-year-old male driver, said CBP said.
"They are very, very creative. They go through a lot of effort," said Levin. "But it doesn't really surprise us too much. Our job is just to think as broadly as they do."
The name of the driver was not released. Levin said CBP does not release names of suspects it arrests until criminal complaints have been filed against them.
The officers involved in Tuesday's incident initially detained the driver after he exhibited suspicious behavior, said CBP.Levin said that CBP narcotics detector dogs were especially useful in detecting the drugs once the driver and his vehicle were referred to a secondary inspection site. CBP also said that officers noticed discrepancies in the ladders on top of the van, which led them to conduct a more thorough search.Another incident of smuggling attempted through San Luis occurred on Sunday afternoon, according to CBP officials, when 76 pounds of marijuana were discovered in the gas tank of a 1989 GMC truck. The unidentified 33-year-old man driving the GMC and the 40-year-old man from Tuesday's incident were both arrested and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to DHS.
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