Pinal County Sheriff's deputies arrested two men and seized 330 pounds of marijuana, during a traffic stop last week.
On March 18, a deputy stopped a Chevy sports utility vehicle after seeing the driver commit a traffic violation near Highway 84 and Highway 347, Tim Gaffney, a Pinal County spokesman said in a news release.
The driver, Miguel Gomez-Valdez, 21, and passenger Rodolfo Celaya-Leyva, 27, rolled down their windows and the deputy smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the SUV and saw several marijuana bundles in the back seat, the rear cargo area and the front floorboard on the passenger's side, the release said.
The men admitted to being in the United States illegally. Celaya-Leyva told authorities he crossed the border the week before with nine other men and each man carried bundles of marijuana on their backs through the desert.
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Both men were arrested on suspicion of one count each of possession of marijuana for sale, transportation of marijuana and possession of marijuana and booked into the Pinal County Jail.
The vehicle, a portable radio and cell phones were also seized.
