Border Patrol agents seize nearly $8.5M worth of marijuana

Officials: More than 10K pounds of marijuana confiscated

Border Patrol agents say they confiscated nearly $8.5 million worth of marijuana during several seizures over the weekend.

One seizure took place Sunday when a raft made landfall on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande and several smugglers were seen carrying bundles of marijuana north. When agents approached them, the smugglers dropped the marijuana and fled, leaving almost 1,400 pounds of marijuana behind.

On Monday, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas task force agents were responding to a report of suspicious activity near the Rio Grande, when the driver of a pickup truck made an abrupt U-turn, heading back south, officials said. The driver abandoned the vehicle and swam back to Mexico, leaving more than 1,400 pounds of marijuana behind to be seized.

With the several other seizures made between Friday and Monday, officials said they confiscated a total of more than 10,600 pounds of marijuana throughout the weekend.