2,981 pounds of marijuana found in watermelon load at Nogales port
CBP officers at the Mariposa port in Nogales, Arizona, found 2,981 pounds of marijuana worth nearly $1.5 million hidden among watermelons in a Volvo truck on 7 November 2011, and arrested the 44-year-old Mexican driver.
🇺🇸 Mariposa Commercial Port, Nogales, Arizona · Arizona, United States
Customs officers at the Mariposa Commercial Port in Nogales, Arizona, seized2,981 pounds (about 1,352 kg) of marijuana hidden in a shipment of watermelons on the evening of 7 November 2011.[1][2]The drugs, in 128 bundles mixed in with the produce, were worth nearly $1.5 million.[1][2]
Officers had referred a 44-year-old Mexican man’s Volvo truck for a non-intrusive X-ray inspection as he tried to enter the United States.[1]The X-ray operator spotted an anomaly in the cargo, and a physical search uncovered the bundles.[1][2]The driver was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, and the marijuana and tractor-trailer were seized.[1]
Photos and video
Marijuana bundles found among watermelons at the Mariposa port, in a CBP handout photoPhoto details
Edmond police found nearly 950 pounds of marijuana in a house that was acting as a stash house for a drug operation. They arrested 38-year-old Qiu Li and submitted charges to the Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office, while investigating a business he allegedly used to launder drug money.
A 70-year-old man was arrested and booked into jail after Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board officers and Snohomish County deputies searched a property near Monroe on 6 November 2026. Investigators seized approximately 2,700 live and dried marijuana plants from what they described as an unlicensed cannabis production operation.
HSI in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said two go-fast vessels carrying about 3,200 kilograms of marijuana and 3,188 kilograms of cocaine were intercepted under Operation Iron Current, a case against a Colombia-based trafficking organization. ICE put the street value of the haul at more than $80.5 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized about $180,000 in undeclared cash and a variety of THC products from a U.S. traveller at the Gordie Howe International Bridge on Nov. 5, 2026. The traveller refused to explain the money's source, and HSI Detroit is investigating.
