Pinal County Sheriff's Office deputies seized 296 pounds of marijuana and arrested one person on Wednesday, according to a press release.
PCSO deputies were working on Highway 84 at approximately 11:25 p.m. and stopped a minivan driving east at a very slow speed. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and as the minivan came to a stop, all the doors of the vehicle opened and four men dressed in camouflage clothing fled the minivan.
The deputy found no one left inside the vehicle and located two bales of marijuana weighing 48 pounds. None of the men who fled the vehicle were located. The van and drugs were seized as evidence.
PCSO says an hour later a deputy observed a vehicle speeding east on Highway 84. The deputy stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as 33-year-old Adrian Bernal of Casa Grande.
The deputy noticed two large bundles in the back seat, which he recognized as bales of marijuana while talking to Bernal.
Bernal was arrested and during a secondary search PCSO deputies found six more bales of marijuana in the trunk. In total, the marijuana bundles weighed 248 pounds.
Bernal is currently being held in Pinal County Jail awaiting charges for a probation violation, drug smuggling, and a child support delinquency warrant.
