Border agents find pot in framed Jesus pictures

[February 12, 2010]  EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- The U.S. Border Patrol says agents found a stash of marijuana coming across the border in El Paso in an unusual spot: tucked behind a framed portrait of Jesus.

A Border Patrol statement issued Wednesday said the bust was made just before 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso. A 22-year-old Mexican woman arrived at the port of entry from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in a sport-utility vehicle. According to the statement, she told agents that she had nothing to declare but some framed art.

Cesar the drug-sniffing dog found otherwise. He was drawn to three framed pictures of Jesus Christ in the SUV. Agents found 30 bundles totalling about 31 pounds behind the backing of the three pictures.

The Border Patrol said it turned the woman to El Paso police for prosecution.

[Associated Press]

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