Dennis RomeroSeems that weed has been washing up along the Southern California coast with alarming frequency. (Though, if you're a stoner, you are probably not alarmed but rather charmed, especially if you've come across some of this bounty from the sea).
It usually arrives in some jenky Mexican “panga” motorboat filled to the brim with marijuana and a few smugglers. This time the importation of cannabis to SoCal has gone upscale:
The crew onboard a Coast Guard response boat on routine patrol spotted a sailboat entering Newport Harbor and decided to initiate the maritime equivalent of a traffic stop, according to a U.S. Coast Guard statement.
It was about 1 a.m. near swanky Balboa Island, according to L.A.-based Coast Guard authorities. They sent us this photo of the fine vehicle:
Credit: USCG
The people on the vessel did the maritime equivalent of starting a short traffic pursuit, and the sailboat made a sharp right and ended up abandoned on a nearby beach, the USCG stated.
Those onboard?
They jumped for it and ran away, never to be found, officials said. Crew members did find something on the vessel, however: 80 to 90 bails of weed, authorities said.
The multi-agency Los Angeles Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (LA BEST) seized the sticky and are investigating.
Meanwhile some billionaire in Newport Beach is probably bummed that he's not super high right now.
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