Pot smugglers exploiting state's vulnerable border | Arizona Republic

Pot smugglers exploiting state's vulnerable border

Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
May. 1, 2004 12:00 AM

Arizona is now a gateway for much of the marijuana coming into the United States.

Smugglers have pinpointed the state's border as a place where they can bring vast quantities of the drug through with relative ease.

"They're not dummies," said Sgt. Ernie Renfro of the state Department of Public Safety. "They know the weaknesses in our border better than we do, and they're exploiting that."

More than 86 percent of marijuana brought into the country comes through the Southwestern border region that stretches from California to Texas, and officials say Arizona has become the No. 2 spot in the country for marijuana trafficking. The only place where more marijuana is smuggled in is southern Texas, according to the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

More at the Arizona Republic

..that pot aparently can't be grown in the US..... The climate must be too cold or something LOL...

public land (national forest etc.) rather than bothering
with importation. But hey, that's an internal matter, nobody
useful to blame there.

http://www.narconews.com/Issue32/article893.html

Borderline Security
A chronicle of reprisal, cronyism and corruption
in the U.S. Customs Service

By Bill Conroy
Prologue to a book published by Narco News




snip


The genesis of this book was a series of investigative stories I wrote for publication from the fall of 2000 through the end of 2002 that detailed disclosures of alleged mismanagement and corruption within U.S. Customs.

Because events are still playing out as this book goes to press, by the time you read these pages, there will undoubtedly have been new developments—particularly in relation to DHS as well as the litigation outlined in the book. But the purpose of the book is not to provide a definitive history of the U.S. Customs Service. Rather my intention is to peer through the veil of spin cloaking a complex and important government agency. This book should be thought of as a looking glass that can offer you a glimpse of the darker regions of a centuries-old federal law-enforcement agency that has now been plugged into a new super department charged with protecting the security of the United States.

This book is not written from the perspective of a journalist working inside the Beltway. I live in San Antonio, a couple of hours by car from Mexico. In addition, the primary sources for this book are not powerbrokers working the Washington, D.C., political scene. Rather, they are a diverse group of individuals who are spread across the country serving on the frontlines of law enforcement—many assigned to key field positions along this nation’s borders.

Along with reviewing stacks of legal filings, internal Customs documents, congressional testimony and other public records for the investigation that led to this book, I also interviewed dozens of individuals, many of them whistleblowers—including current and former Customs supervisors, inspectors, intelligence officers and investigative agents. The book explores corruption allegations affecting Customs’ operations in Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, California, New York—and beyond, into the very heart of the nation’s capital.



snip


Chapter 1 – Investigation Derailed



Chapter 2 – The Belly of the Snake

Chapter 3 – Shooting the Messenger

Chapter 4 – “The Racist Manifesto”

Chapter 5 – The Hydra

Chapter 6 – Green Quest

Chapter 7 – Quid Pro Quo

Chapter 8 – Reckless Driving

Chapter 9 – Firestorm

Chapter 10 – Swept Under the Rug

Chapter 11 – Politically Connected

Bill Conroy has worked as a reporter or editor for the past eighteen years at newspapers in Wisconsin, Arizona, Minnesota and Texas. His investigative reporting over the past five years has focused on corruption and discrimination within federal law enforcement agencies.

:D

British Columbia, Canada.

But that's no match for local domestic production. Mexican weed is around but not in amounts like we were seeing back in the '70s.

All my personal opinions based on casual observation.

you read the headline and assume that it refers to artifacts!

:dunce:

:D

Mexican pot ceased to exist 20 years ago.