Kush70
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Ton of marijuana seized in La Feria
November 04, 2011 6:35 AM
By ISAAC GARCIA/The Brownsville Herald
LA FERIA Two men were arrested after investigators seized more than a ton of marijuana, making this the second largest dope bust in the county this year, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Thursday.
Investigators seized 166 bundles of marijuana totaling 2,294 pounds, he said. Based on an estimated street value of about $300 per pound, the pot would have a value of more than $688,000, he said.
Farther north, the street value of marijuana can be $1,000 per pound, Lucio said.
There is no question about it, this was a big one, Lucio said of the seizure. Early this year, we made a bust of about 3,000 pounds.
Lucio said 15 tons of marijuana has been seized this year in the county.
Valente Solis-Martinez, 49, of Donna, and Ernesto Rolando Contina, 23, of Brownsville, were arrested outside La Feria Wednesday and charged with possession of marijuana, authorities said. Bail was set at $100,000 for Martinez and $50,000 for Contina.
Neither man has prior drug arrests, authorities said.
Officers with the Cameron County Sheriffs Office Special Investigations Unit said they received a tip that the narcotics were hidden at a property at FM 2556 and Mile 8 North Road.
Lucio said at a press conference Thursday that investigators saw several men load large, plastic-wrapped bundles into a white trailer.
When two of the men left the property, Lucio said, they were pulled over for a traffic violation and later arrested when investigators found marijuana inside a red barn, a white trailer and a blue tractor.
Lucio said that although the seizure was a drop in the bucket of all marijuana smuggled through the county, every effort helps and every tip counts to get narcotics off the streets.
November 04, 2011 6:35 AM
By ISAAC GARCIA/The Brownsville Herald
LA FERIA Two men were arrested after investigators seized more than a ton of marijuana, making this the second largest dope bust in the county this year, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Thursday.
Investigators seized 166 bundles of marijuana totaling 2,294 pounds, he said. Based on an estimated street value of about $300 per pound, the pot would have a value of more than $688,000, he said.
Farther north, the street value of marijuana can be $1,000 per pound, Lucio said.
There is no question about it, this was a big one, Lucio said of the seizure. Early this year, we made a bust of about 3,000 pounds.
Lucio said 15 tons of marijuana has been seized this year in the county.
Valente Solis-Martinez, 49, of Donna, and Ernesto Rolando Contina, 23, of Brownsville, were arrested outside La Feria Wednesday and charged with possession of marijuana, authorities said. Bail was set at $100,000 for Martinez and $50,000 for Contina.
Neither man has prior drug arrests, authorities said.
Officers with the Cameron County Sheriffs Office Special Investigations Unit said they received a tip that the narcotics were hidden at a property at FM 2556 and Mile 8 North Road.
Lucio said at a press conference Thursday that investigators saw several men load large, plastic-wrapped bundles into a white trailer.
When two of the men left the property, Lucio said, they were pulled over for a traffic violation and later arrested when investigators found marijuana inside a red barn, a white trailer and a blue tractor.
Lucio said that although the seizure was a drop in the bucket of all marijuana smuggled through the county, every effort helps and every tip counts to get narcotics off the streets.
