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Mexican Boy, 15, Held After $1.1M South Texas Marijuana Bust

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LOS INDIOS, Texas (AP) - Law officers in South Texas have apprehended a 15-year-old Mexican boy accused of driving a vehicle hauling more than a half-ton of smuggled marijuana.

Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector Chief Manuel Padilla Jr. says the bust, involving drugs with an estimated street value of $1.1 million, shows how transnational criminal organizations exploit youth.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement Monday announced the Dec. 8 seizure of 1,380 pounds of marijuana.

Agents patrolling near the Rio Grande in Los Indios saw several people loading bundles of marijuana into a vehicle. Agents followed and stopped the vehicle, leading to the driver -- a Mexican teen -- being caught and turned over to police. Further details on the juvenile weren't released.

The marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A Texas woman was arrested in eastern Arizona after 173 pounds of marijuana and nine pounds of hashish oil were found in her car on Monday. 

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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