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Marijuana Smuggled Into US Inside Ford Fusions Built In Mexico

(Photo: REUTERS)

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More than $1 million worth of marijuana was discovered in the trunks of brand new Ford Fusions that had been manufactured in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, WDRB reports.

Silverio Balzano, agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Youngstown office, says the drugs were found between July 7 and July 1 at a Ford dealership in Youngstown, Ohio, according to WDRB.

The cars were transported into the U.S. via railroad into a CSX rail yard in Youngstown. Officials are looking into who put the drugs in the car, and who failed to pick up the drugs.

“Clearly, something went wrong,” Balzano said. “Generally speaking, they could take it off anywhere else along the way.”

The marijuana was packaged into “half moon” shapes and placed in the wheel wells for spare tires of the cars. Each package reportedly weighed 14.5 kilos, or roughly 32 pounds. Fifteen drug-laden cars were found across four counties in Ohio, and several were reportedly found in Pennsylvania.

Balzano says that this is the first time a seizure of this kind happened in his locality. He does, however, know of similar cases in Arizona and Minnesota.

In March, police in Dilworth, Minn., discovered seven Ford Fusions with similarly packaged quantities of marijuana. Those cars were transported in sealed BNSF Railway cars.

“We’re aware of the situation and are taking it very seriously,” a Ford Motor Company spokesman said Saturday. “We are working with the FBI and Customs on an extensive investigation. We have confirmed that this is not happening at our plant or at our internal shipping yards.”

A CSX spokesperson told CNN that the rail company is “providing all the support we can to the agencies who are investigating this serious crime and will continue to do so.”