PHOENIX — An Arizona law enforcement alliance tracked down three men in stolen pickup trucks with more than $1 million worth of marijuana last month.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's office, Arizona Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped two Mexican men and a Phoenician Jan. 30. They were trying to circumvent a border checkpoint by driving in the open desert near Interstate 85, according to a release from the Arizona Attorney General's office.
In the trucks, which they stopped with spike strips, investigators found 3,516 pounds of marijuana and more than 220 pounds of methamphetamine.
Detectives arrested Mexican nationals Yony Ontiveros-Torres, 48, and Ruben Jimenez Espericueta, 48. They also arrested 30-year-old Jaime Garcia Lopez of Phoenix.
The trio faces charges ranging from conspiracy to transportation of a dangerous drug, as well as car theft charges.
