Drug smugglers have become quite sophisticated when it comes to using advanced technology and engineering to ply their trade.

Last month we told you how a $1,400 drone was used in an attempt to bring crystal meth across the border. (It crashed in a super market parking lot in Tijuana).

This week U.S. Customs and Border Protection said an ultralight aircraft (ULA) was likely used to bring 230 pounds of marijuana into Southern California from Mexico.

Unfortunately for the traffickers, the weed was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents before the pickup men could get to it, the CBP said in a statement.

The discovery was made at 7 :40 a.m. Sunday nearly near Bowker Road and Interstate 8 outside El Centro, authorities said:

Credit: The goods, via the CBP

Credit: The goods, via the CBP

The incident took place at approximately 7:40 a.m., when Border Patrol agents discovered an abandoned metal basket loaded with 10 large bundles. Because the metal basket is commonly used by ULAs, agents believe the bundles were dropped from an ULA and was intended to be picked up and transported by drug smugglers on the ground.

No one on the ground was found or arrested.

The haul weighed 233.7 pounds and had an estimated street value of $140,220, the CBP said. The cannabis was turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

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