Cross-border marijuana bootlegging is a massive enterprise, despite extensive efforts by prohibition agents to block the traffic. NBC San Diego recently reported on a large seizure of the prohibited substance by authorities, and this morning they reported on yet another. This time, agents found more than 6,000 pounds of marijuana at the Calexico East port cargo facility, according to NBC.
The contraband was wrapped into 458 packages, which were concealed amongst 67 boxes of door locks in a 1998 tractor trailer, according to prohibition agents. A 30-year-old Mexicali man was arrested after a canine team alerted on the cargo. The bootlegger was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to NBC.
Because drugs are illegal, their price on the street market is artificially inflated in what economists call a "risk premium." Hence, while three tons of wheat might fetch $500 on the current California market, prohibition agents valued the marijuana at approximately $5.9 million.
Area marijuana users have not reported shortages lately, suggesting that bootleggers adjust the amount they traffic to compensate for anticipated losses such as occurred this morning and that many other shipments have probably gotten through.
