Armed group on Conservancy ranch seizes pot

IRENE HSIAO
Tucson Citizen
Oct. 18, 2002
Armed volunteers say they seized 279 pounds of marijuana Tuesday and Wednesday near the border east of Nogales.
Members of Ranch Rescue this week were monitoring criminal activity on San Antonio Ranch, which is owned by The Nature Conservancy, said Jack Foote, Ranch Rescue's spokesman.
Six people suspected of being drug runners from Mexico dropped a load of marijuana at about 8 p.m. Tuesday after being confronted by members of Ranch Rescue.
They had told the group alto or "stop," before they fled. Another group, this one with three people, dropped a second load at 3 a.m. Wednesday, he said.
Ranch Rescue left the San Antonio Ranch, in Lochiel, yesterday morning at the request of the The Nature Conservancy, said Tom Collazo, spokesman for The Nature Conservancy of Arizona. The Nature Conservancy will upgrade a system of locks on the property's gates as a result of the incidents.
Gates have been left unlocked to allow the U.S. Border Patrol to check the area, he said.
The Ranch Rescue members were in camouflage and heavily armed, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada. Santa Cruz County authorities picked up the confiscated marijuana at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, he said.
Initially, the manager of the 1,745-acre property gave Ranch Rescue permission to set up a camera with night-vision capabilities on a hilltop, Foote said.
"Our manager assumed the guys were with the Border Patrol," Collazo said. "So technically, yes, they did have permission. It was a bit of a misunderstanding."
The 13 members of Ranch Rescue, which has chapters in mainly the western states, including Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California, contacted members of the media before they called law officers.
"We wanted to make sure that the media was there so there wouldn't be any opportunity of accusations against our volunteers," Foote said.
Authorities are still investigating, and no arrests have been made, Estrada said.
The Santa Cruz County Metropolitan Task Force took the marijuana. Local, state and federal law agencies are now involved.
"I believe it's got to be bumped up a few notches to the federal government," Estrada said. "We're talking about international issues here, illegal immigration and drug smuggling."