Near-record pot bust: 15 tons of marijuana seized at US-Mexico border

SAN DIEGO – Federal authorities have seized more than 15 tons of marijuana in a near-record bust at a border crossing in Southern California.

VIRTUAL TOUR: Behind the scenes of a marijuana grow-op

The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday that more than 1,200 packages of marijuana valued at nearly $19 million were seized this week from a truck-trailer carrying mattresses and cushions at the Otay Mesa border crossing.

Authorities arrested the truck’s 46-year-old driver and seized the vehicle late Thursday.

The newspaper says the seizure was the second-largest in a single incident at a U.S. border crossing, trailing a more than 35,000-pound bust in 2013.