Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - Nearly 4,000 pounds of marijuana, 19 vehicles, and five firearms were seized, and 241 people arrested during a 14-day multiagency operation focused in the Silver Bell and Sawtooth Mountain areas, west of Interstate 10.

Operation Silver Bell, which ran from January 29 to February 11, focused on identifying new smuggling trends and disrupting transnational criminal organizations from continuing their operations, according to a news release from Customs and Border Protection.

The operation, led by the Bureau of Land Management, involved nine different law enforcement agencies, including various Border Patrol stations, several Southern Arizona police forces, and the Pima County Sheriff's Office.

The operation also made use of the air assets from the CBP's Office of Air and Marine.

"Each agency brings added value to the table. Everyone has a different skill set and by working together we get the benefit of all of them," said Jon Young, State Chief Ranger-Arizona, Bureau of Land Management.