700 pounds of pot found on border bus

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SAN DIEGO, May 24 (UPI) -- Customs officials at the U.S.-Mexican border near San Diego found 700 pounds of marijuana on a commercial bus, federal authorities said.

A canine team screening vehicles at the San Ysidro Port of Entry Tuesday alerted officials to inspect the undercarriage of the bus, said Angelica De Cima, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Officers found 177 packages of marijuana hidden in a compartment built into the gas tank of the bus, which was carrying 22 passengers, U-T San Diego reported Wednesday. The value of the drug was estimated at $350,000, De Cima said.

Police arrested the 37-year-old driver, a Mexican citizen whose name was not reported, and booked the suspect into the Metropolitan Correctional Center.