PHOTOS: Border Patrol claims thousands of pounds of pot in 2 days

RIO GRANDE CITY - Over the past two days U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station seized more than 2,300 pounds of marijuana and netted nearly 550 additional pounds early this morning.

The largest seizure occurred near Fronton, when agents saw a Dodge pickup loaded with contraband traveling southeast across a field. They lost sight of the vehicle but followed its tire tracks through the brush, eventually finding it abandoned. Nearly 700 pounds of marijuana were found in the pickup and on the ground.

In an unrelated incident Tuesday morning near Escobares, agents seized nearly 600 pounds of marijuana after seeing several people loading bundles into a Ford Expedition on the banks of the Rio Grande. The agents maneuvered through the thick brush to confront the smugglers on foot but as they got closer, the vehicle drove off to the north. Additional agents intercepted the vehicle, but the Expedition’s driver made a U-turn, sped back south and plunged the vehicle into the river. Inside the Expedition agents found five large bundles of marijuana.

The marijuana from the multiple seizures was turned over to various agencies for further investigation.