More than 7,000 pounds of that was seized Sunday by agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station and the Starr County Sheriff's Interdiction Unit at a ranch house north of Garciasville, Texas. The seizure occurred when agents observed suspicious activity in the area and followed a trail that led them to the house. As they approached the house they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside. Agents contacted the Interdiction Unit and a search warrant was obtained. Upon serving the warrant, law enforcement officers found more than 640 bundles of marijuana with an estimated value of more than $5.7 million inside the house.
Another large load of marijuana was taken off the streets Friday near Escobares, Texas. That night agents were working near the Rio Grande when they saw several people loading bundles of marijuana into a pickup truck. When the agents identified themselves, the smugglers fled into the thick brush