Fake Cop Car Almost Pulls Off Seizure Of 319 Pounds Marijuana

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Photo: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
Deputies discovered this 319 pounds of marijuana in two abandoned vehicles near Interstate 8 in Arizona. They believe a Crown Victoria equipped to look like a patrol car was attempting to steal the weed from the other vehicle.

​A fake patrol car apparently attempted a traffic stop Saturday night on a second vehicle in order to steal the marijuana it was carrying, according to law enforcement officials.

Pinal County sheriffs’ deputies said they found a car disguised as a police patrol car, along with another car off the side of Interstate 8 in Arizona, reports Stephanie Russo at The Arizona Republic. Both vehicles had bales of marijuana in the trunk, totaling about 319 pounds, reports James King of Phoenix New Times.
The real cops apparently happened upon the scene just after the fake cops stopped the car with the load of weed. Deputies said the engines of both vehicles were still running when they stopped to check out the scene near Vekol Valley, but both occupants had fled the scene.
The fake patrol car was a Ford Crown Victoria — a perennial favorite of law enforcement — outfitted with red and blue lights, a siren, a spotlight and a front push bar similar to a real cop car.


Photo: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
Deputies believe occupants of the fake patrol car were in the process of transferring the 14 bales of marijuana to its trunk when real cops happened upon the scene

​A deputy found the fake cop car stuck in loose dirt, with the trunk partially open and the rear passenger windows down, according to spokesman Tim Gaffney. It was about 20 feet behind the other vehicle, a Ford Taurus, which had crashed into a barbed-wire fence during the stop.
Cops claimed the 319 pounds of marijuana contained in 14 packaged bales was worth $159,500, which means they are calculating the value at $500 an el-bee, a slightly more realistic estimate than one usually gets from law enforcement officials.
Deputies also discovered a black ski mask and a black hoodie sweatshirt next to the driver’s seat in the fake patrol car.
According to Gaffney, deputies believe the driver and passengers of the Crown Vic were part of a “rip crew” and had tried to seize the marijuana carried in the Taurus.
Based on the position of the vehicles and marijuana, deputies believe the “rip crew” attempted a traffic stop, but the Taurus left the road and hit the fence before its occupants ran from the car.
The rip crew were then in the process of transferring the marijuana to their fake cop car before also fleeing the scene, according to Gaffney.
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