Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had been watching a heavily wooded five-acre lot in the 12000 block of Martindale Street in southeast Houston, which officials described as an unloading and distribution point for marijuana shipments from the southern border.[1] On Saturday 3 March 2007 officers stopped four vehicles leaving the property; one evaded them, the occupants of a black pickup fled, and agents found the two school buses hidden in open-air sheds on the lot.[1][2]
Arrests and haul
Gerardo Valdez, 22, of Houston, and Juan Jose Villarreal, 35, of Donna, were arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute nearly 19,000 pounds of marijuana, valued by authorities at nearly $13 million.[1] Valdez was driving a rented van holding 1,500 pounds and a pickup linked to Villarreal held 2,500 pounds; another 1,200 pounds were found in the black pickup abandoned during the chase.[1] The NDIC later summarized the haul as over 9,000 kilograms taken from two school buses and two rental vans.[2] ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the Houston and Pasadena police and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department took part.[1]
