$1M in Marijuana Smuggled in Mexican-made Ford Fusions

A Ford dealership in Ohio discovered marijuana bundles that smugglers apparently hid in a shipment of new Ford Fusions assembled in Mexico.

The dealership discovered the marijuana and notified Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials to begin an investigation, Fox59 reported. DEA agents recovered the marijuana and estimated its value at about $1 million, Youngstown, Ohio, agent in charge Silverio Balzano told reporters.

The vehicles were produced in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, officials reported. The marijuana-laden vehicles were transported to the U.S. and on to Lordstown, Ohio, via CSX railways. Transportation companies then moved the cars to dealerships in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“Clearly, something went wrong,” Agent Balzano told the reporters. “Generally speaking, they could take it off anywhere else along the way.”

The dealership began discovering the bundles between July 7 and July 11 in half-moon shaped bundles mounted into the wheel wells for the spare tires in the trunks of the new Fusions.

Officials reported that each bundle weighed about 32 pounds. Officials discovered the bundles of marijuana in 15 cars at multiple dealerships.

Ford Motor Company told reporters they are working with law enforcement to determine what happened. “We’re aware of the situation and are taking it very seriously. We are working with the FBI and Customs on an extensive investigation.”

Ford said they confirmed, “this is not happening at our plant or at our internal shipping yards.”

At this time, officials do not know why smugglers did not retrieve their shipment somewhere along the transportation route.