Mexican Police Seize Pot Worth $340 Million In Tijuana Raids

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Mexican authorities say they seized some 105 tons of marijuana early Monday, in a mammoth bust that began with police noticing a suspicious convoy on the roads of Tijuana.

After armed men in a convoy escorting a marijuana-laden truck exchanged fire with Mexican security officers -- and were eventually subdued -- they told the authorities where the rest of the drugs were stashed, according to The Los Angeles Times. At least 11 people have been arrested.

The marijuana was bound for the United States, according to Mexican Army Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mujica. After reportedly being gathered from several locations across Mexico, the pot was sitting in shipping containers in Tijuana when authorities interceded.



At a news conference, Duarte said the shipment's street value in Mexico was an estimated 4.2 billion pesos -- or around $340 million. That figure would have risen even higher if the drugs were successfully brought across the border.

Photos of the marijuana packages suggest the smugglers may have been using an elaborate system to organize the drug shipment, with labels and symbols written on color-coded wrappers to identify specific distributors. One logo was based on the TV character Homer Simpson, according to the AP.

The final size of the bust may increase, Duarte said, as officials continued to count and weigh the packages. He said the drugs would be incinerated immediately after the weighing and counting is completed.

The bust comes 10 days after Mexican President Felipe Calderon called Tijuana a success story in his country's struggle with drug smugglers.

At 105 tons, the seizure nearly matches the 115 tons of marijuana security forces had seized so far this year in the state of Baja California, which includes Tijuana.