A drug catapult used to throw drugs into Arizona from Mexico was found on the Mexico side of the border fence last week during a routine border patrol.
Agents assigned to patrol the fence in Douglas, Arizona, discovered the catapult Feb. 10 after seeing men run away as they approached, Fox News reported. The agents also found over 47 pounds of marijuana nearby.
No one was reported arrested in the incident, Fox News reported. Federal authorities said smugglers have used air-powered cannons and catapults repeatedly to launch drugs into the United States from Mexico. Vehicle ramps and lightweight aircraft have also been used to get drugs across the border, according to CBS News.
The device taken by border agents last week was constructed of square tubing welded to a heavy spring, with rope tied around parts of it, CNN reported. The homemade contraption wasn’t intended to hurl heavy objects but worked well enough to catapult lighter bundles over the fence.
The catapult was dismantled, but it remains to be seen whether more such devices will be used to get drugs into the U.S. from Mexico.
Drug smugglers have also sent drugs across the border stuffed in to fake limes and disguised as carrots in recent months. Often, these operations are responsible for thousands of pounds of drugs coming into the country rather than the smaller amounts that could enter with a catapult system, CNN reported.
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