Police and federal agents were trapped Tuesday morning five miles east of the Naco port of entry by gunfire from men believed to be Mexican drug dealers, officials said.
The incident started when a Bisbee police officer spotted a Chevrolet Tahoe carrying bundles of marijuana traveling with a Ford F-250 west on Arizona 92, said Kevin Hoskins, a detective with the Bisbee Police Department.
The officer chased the trucks onto a border road and the Tahoe escaped into Mexico about six miles east of Naco, he said. The Ford broke down near the border, where the passenger and driver ran into Mexico, said Andy Adame, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector.
Within minutes a vehicle pulled up to the border from Mexico and opened fire with automatic weapons, pinning down four officers nearest the Ford.
One of the gunmen ran to the Ford, grabbed a suitcase from inside and ran away as others opened fire on the truck again, Hoskins said.
"It looked like it was an attempt to ignite the vehicle," he said of about 25 rounds that were fired. No one was injured.
BISBEE - Three high-speed pursuits Tuesday morning, which Bisbee police believe involved a marijuana drug smuggling ring, landed a man in jail.
Bisbee police Sgt. Taron Maddox said the arrested man's name is being withheld while the FBI looks into the case.
The first pursuit began at 8:32 a.m. when an Arizona Department of Public Safety police officer tried to pull over a Ford pickup truck near the Lavender Pit on Highway 80. The truck rammed the police vehicle, which resulted in the officer shooting at the suspect, Maddox said.
The suspect was pursued on Highway 80 toward Douglas, before leaving the truck and fleeing on foot. Bisbee police apprehended him a short time later.
As the first pursuit took place, other officers set up a perimeter at the intersection of Naco Highway and Highway 92.
Officers saw two Chevrolet trucks flee the scene and drive erratically when police showed up. One truck, a Chevrolet Tahoe, was able to cross the border and escape apprehension.
Police Chief Jim Elkin's vehicle was hit by one of the fleeing trucks at Highway 92, just west of Naco Highway, Maddox said. That vehicle fled on Border Road in Naco with police pursuing. The suspect later crashed the vehicle and fled on foot into Mexico and disappeared.
After the suspect crashed the vehicle, a man in a blue Dodge Durango pulled up from across the border and fired 25 rounds of bullets into the fuel tank of the truck that crashed, which, Maddox said, was an attempt to ignite the vehicle and its contents.
"Why would you try to shoot your own vehicle?" he asked, before saying they were attempting to destroy evidence.
Maddox said U.S. Border Patrol agents approached the Durango before taking cover, believing they were being fired at.
Andy Adame, spokesman for the Border Patrol, said the agency is awaiting reports from the field before commenting.
Maddox said the first vehicle recovered on Highway 80 going toward Douglas had an undisclosed amount of marijuana in it. The vehicle that crashed on Border Road had 400 to 600 pounds of marijuana in a secret compartment, Maddox said.
The three vehicles match the description of a marijuana drug smuggling ring officials have been investigating, the sergeant said.
Maddox said it is a common practice for three or more vehicles to come across the border at the same time because smugglers believe one will be successful in getting the drugs across.
HERALD/REVIEW reporter Michael Maresh can be reached at 432-2231 or by e-mail at svhnews@c2i2.com.