1,377 pounds of pot found after being 'launched' over border

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Border Patrol agents seized 1,377 pounds of marijuana in dozens of bundles that the agency says had somehow been launched over the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Agent Matthew Eisenhauer says agents using thermal-imaging cameras spotted the bundles apparently being launched over the border fence near Douglas Saturday night.

Agents responded and found approximately 80 bundles within 150 yards of the border. The multiple bundles of narcotics are valued at just under $700,000.

Eisenhauer says officials aren't sure how the bundles were launched over the border.

In previous incidents, smugglers have thrown drug bundles over the border or shot them over with devices such as air-powered cannons and catapults.

Smugglers also have used a variety of techniques. Those include placing vehicle ramps next to the border fence or wall and using ultralight aircraft to drop shipments in the desert.