About $4 million worth of pot was discovered on a California beach last weekend.
On March 17, about one ton of marijuana was found wrapped in plastic bags at Arroyo Quemada Beach near Santa Barbara, according to a news release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. An abandoned panga boat was also found nearby with more than 20 fuel containers.
"Sheriff’s detectives located a significant amount of evidence that was consistent with marijuana smuggling activities, including trash and debris that was strewn about the beach and nearby coastal access trails," the department said in the statement.
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s narcotics detectives confiscated the 50 bales of marijuana, and the boat will be given to federal agents for investigation.
As the Associated Press notes, "panga boats are often used for smuggling people or drugs into the United States from Mexico."
Earlier in March, a boat carrying about $1 million in pot crashed on a beach near Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to the Los Angeles Times. Homeland Security took over that investigation.
In December, a Coast Guard investigation of a "panga-style" boat turned tragic when the boat rammed the Coast Guard's craft, killing Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne. At the time, Capt. James Jenkins told the outlet they suspected the boat "was engaged in illegal activity."
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