Related: Arizona Officials Seize 2,118 Pounds of Marijuana from Fake UPS Truck
Drug Smugglers Arrested With Fake Water District Truck
Border Patrol agents arrested two men attempting to smuggle more than 674 pounds of marijuana through the Calexico checkpoint with a fake Imperial Irrigation District work truck.

Photo courtesy of USCBP.

Photo courtesy of USCBP.
Border Patrol agents arrested two men attempting to smuggle more than 674 pounds of marijuana through the Calexico checkpoint with a fake Imperial Irrigation District work truck.
Agents arrested the two men at 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 19, after a remote video surveillance operator noticed them enter the U.S. near the Drop 5 hydroelectric plant on the All-American Canal. The men loaded the bundles into a waiting pickup truck driven by a 25-year-old Mexican national.
The driver of the truck drove away and failed to yield to Border Patrol agents as they attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The men abandoned the truck and attempted to flee into Mexico before they were arrested.
The Imperial Irrigation District was notified of the truck, a 2015 GMC Sierra bearing stolen license plates and fake magnetic agency logos.
The seized marijuana was valued at more than $404,000, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection release.
More Operations

How Oil Analysis, Safety Technology, and Fleet Awards Drive Improvement
What happens when fleets let measured results guide their next decision?
Read More →
Emergency Response, Fleet Sales and New Technology
This week’s fleet news covers emergency preparedness, shifting vehicle sales, electric truck investments, and new tools for monitoring road conditions.
Read More →
NCDOT Adds Dash Cam Imagery to Statewide Traffic Monitoring
North Carolina transportation officials are adding another set of eyes to roads that aren't covered by fixed traffic cameras. A statewide deployment gives NCDOT access to on-vehicle imagery to verify conditions during work zones, severe weather, emergencies, and other traffic events.
Read More →
Turning a Bottleneck Into a Blueprint: How Tallahassee Rethought Police Fleet Readiness
For Tallahassee, finally receiving 87 delayed police cruisers created a new problem: how to get them on the road without creating a massive backlog. The solution would change more than the upfit process.
Read More →
AI, Police Fleet Readiness and Fire Apparatus News
See how AI, a reworked police-vehicle upfitting process, and a fire apparatus acquisition could affect public fleet operations.
Read More →
How AI and Automation Work Together to Reduce Government Fleet Downtime
As their assets age and their budgets’ purchasing power shrinks, government fleet managers are facing growing pressure to do more with less.
Read More →
Police Fleet Innovation, EV Strategy and AI
See how public fleets are rethinking police vehicle readiness, electrification, workplace culture, and driver workflows.
Read More →
From What He Inherited to What He’ll Leave Behind: David Renschler’s Lessons in Leadership
David Renschler walked into Fairfield with plenty to learn and no idea what awaited him. Twenty years later, the lessons from what came next are still shaping his approach to fleet.
Read More →
Have Fleets Changed Enough to Solve the Technician Shortage?
Are government fleets finally closing the gap on the technician shortage, or are critical challenges still holding them back?
Read More →
How Public Fleets Are Rethinking Vehicles, EVs, and Culture
From mission-specific vehicles to EV planning and culture change, this week’s stories show how public fleets are rethinking the way they operate.
Read More →

