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Drugs

Border Patrol Agents Stopped a Hearse Carrying a Coffin Full of Weed

A drug-sniffing dog uncovered more than 60 pounds of marijuana that had been hidden inside the ornate casket, next to bags of manure.
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US
Photo courtesy of the Arizona Customs and Border Protection Twitter

When a few Border Patrol agents saw a gleaming white hearse whizzing down the highway outside Tucson, Arizona, they figured the rig was worth a closer look—and, with help of a keen-nosed drug-sniffing dog, they made a major marijuana bust.

Agents found more than 60 pounds of marijuana stuffed into a casket in the back of the hearse, Border Patrol said in a statement Sunday. They pulled over the driver on Saturday night in—of all places—Tombstone, a small city about 70 miles outside of Tucson.

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Though it's unclear exactly why the feds checked out the big white hearse, they apparently got suspicious when the driver fed them a few different stories, USA Today reports. That's when the agents decided to call in a canine unit, which zeroed in on a strange scent emanating from the vehicle.

The cops searched the car and pulled out an ornate, wooden casket. Inside, they found 67 pounds of weed, which they estimated to be worth a street value at least $33,000. Someone had even mixed in a few bags of manure next to the pot in an apparent attempt to throw the feds (and their dogs) off the scent of the kush.

Border Patrol arrested the driver, a 28-year-old US citizen, for narcotics smuggling. They confiscated his stash—and went home with his hearse, too.

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