Pot found amid carrots at border crossing; driver arrested

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A 29-year-old man has been arrested at the Otay Mesa border crossing on suspicion of trying to smuggle 310 pounds of marijuana into the U.S. hidden amid a load of carrots.

Officials of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the man, a U.S. citizen and resident of the Los Angeles County community of Maywood, was arrested Wednesday night and the cargo in his truck seized.

The pot, in 42 packages hidden in the boxes of carrots, has a street value of almost $500,000, officials said. A pound of carrots sells for between $1 and $3.

--Tony Perry in San Diego