$500,000 worth of marijuana seized

Authorities in Pinal County have found hundreds of pounds of abandoned drugs in a stretch of desert along Interstate 8.

A vehicle reported stolen from Phoenix was discovered Tuesday with more than a half ton of marijuana inside. Border Patrol agents seized the drugs inside a Chevy Tahoe dumped in the Vekol Valley in Southern Pinal County, an area drug and human smugglers frequently travel through.

BP agents and police officers searched the area for suspects, but made no arrests. The stolen car was released to the Department of Public Safety.

The marijuana is reportedly valued at more than $500,000.

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