Author Jack Daniel

As the busiest land border crossing in the world, the U.S./Mexico border checkpoint at San Ysidro in California has seen its fair share of smuggling attempts. But to this day, the stop and seizure of a van stuffed with four tons of marijuana back in 2002 remains as one of the largest weed busts on record at the bustling international checkpoint.
The discovery was made as the van was just a few car lengths away from a successful border crossing, in the lane of a seasoned Border Protection inspector by the name of Lorne “Hammer” Jones. Long respected among his peers as the last line of defense on our nation’s southern border, Lorne Jones, it turns out, had spent over a decade working in cahoots with powerful Mexican drug cartels, repeatedly waving through vehicles he knew to be loaded with illegal drugs, or illegal aliens.

Mexican fishing boats, known as pangas, are typically pretty modest in size, with outboard motors and a big, high bow to give the vessel more buoyancy when casting and retrieving large nets. But according to Virginia Kice, spokesperson for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), they have increased steadily in size, speed, range, and navigational capabilities. Bigger boats can float more dope, and it is not uncommon for these pangas to be carrying literally a ton or more of low-grade Mexican marijuana. What is uncommon is where they have been making port lately, once they do get north of the border.