Junk in the Trunk: New Ford Fusions Used to Smuggle Mexican Marijuana

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We know automakers are weeding out spare tires from many new cars. But when Sterling Mestad popped the trunk on his 2017 Ford Fusion, little did he know police would find $ 320,000 worth of smuggled marijuana stashed under the carpet.

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A recent report by the Minnesota-based website Alpha News said state authorities have seized 1100 pounds of marijuana hidden in the spare-tire wells of at least 22 Ford Fusion sedans coming from Mexico, one of which went home with 86-year-old Mestad in February. A truck driver carrying some of the cars tipped off the Saint Paul police department, which tracked down 15 drug-filled cars—most of which were already at area dealerships, and all having been loaded off the same train car from Mexico, Alpha News said. One month later, in March, police in Dilworth, Minnesota, found another seven cars (including a Lincoln MKZ) with marijuana packed exactly the same way—wrapped with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and coffee grounds to appear like spare tires, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

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Authorities said that before these cars left Ford’s Hermosillo, Mexico, plant, someone boarded the train to pack the drugs and discard the spare tires. Then, somewhere past the train’s Arizona-Sonora border crossing, smugglers boarded again to retrieve the shipment. In these cases, police and federal agencies have not detained any suspects. Ford has said it is aware of the investigation, which Alpha News cites as being connected to the Sinaloa drug cartel, once headed by the notorious El Chapo (Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera). Ford’s plant is within the cartel-controlled area, and the cartel also has ties in Minnesota, the site reported. The Associated Press reported that in May 2015, the Mexican military seized 430 pounds of marijuana hidden in the spare-tire wells of 14 unnamed cars on the same railway.

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• Ford’s Drugged Driving Suit Simulates Effects of Driving while High

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• Marijuana Doesn’t Pose Significant Risk in Car Crashes, NHTSA Says

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• Ford Fusion: Tests, Specs, Pricing, and More

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All this is to say, make sure your dealer—your Ford dealer, that is—actually completes the pre-delivery inspection. Although having a stash of marijuana instead of a spare tire in the trunk could at least make the wait for a tow truck more interesting.

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