Boat with Nearly a Ton of Marijuana Washes up on Shore of Popular L.A. Surfing Area
A boat with almost 2,000 pounds of marijuana was found beached on Monday in a popular surfing area.
Officials found the boat near Malibu, Calif. and three people nearby have been detained for questioning according to a Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesperson.
The beach where the boat was found is the Leo Carrillo Beach. It was loaded with multiple bundles of marijuana that were wrapped and sealed.
State Park Rangers originally saw the beached boat and noted a strong smell of marijuana and gasoline. Before deputies arrived, they detained one individual. The other two ran but were caught shortly later hiding in the bushes.
The three men found face trafficking charges and could be deported. The street value of that much marijuana can range from $1 million to $2 million.
The panga boat used in the smuggle attempt is a popular type of boat for drug smugglers because of the deep V-bottom.
In the past four years, Southern California has seen more of these types of drug crimes with these types of boats, but usally the boats aren't find beached with the drugs still in them.
In the last two years, 1,300 people have been apprehended, 200 boats have been seized and 135,000 pounds of drugs have been recovered.
Compare that to 2008 when no drugs were recovered and only 230 people were apprehended.
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