PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio -- The Portage County Drug Task Force and agents from the Youngstown DEA office recovered more than $1 million of marijuana this week stuffed in new Ford Fusions shipped from Mexico to Northeast Ohio.



Authorities say smugglers removed the spare tires of the cars and replaced them with more than 400 pounds of marijuana compressed to fit in the small space.

Employees from the service department at a dealership in Portage County found a suspicious package in the trunk wheel compartment of a Ford Fusion during a delivery inspection, according to a news release from Portage County Sheriff David Doak.

The car was shipped by train from Mexico to a rail yard in Warren, the release says. Five more packages of marijuana were found in Ford Fusions there, the release says.

Task Force members and DEA agents recovered an additional nine packages of marijuana from new Ford Fusions in Portage, Stark and Columbiana counties along with one package in Pennsylvania.

Investigators with the help of Ford Motor Company determined the Ford Fusions, which were manufactured in Mexico, came to the United States by crossing the Mexican border into Arizona and made their way to northeast Ohio, the release says.

Investigators also determined 15 new Ford Fusions on a rail car had their spare tires removed and were replaced with compressed packages of marijuana resembling a tire, the release says.

The investigation is ongoing.

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