Marijuana found in trucker's melons

TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) - Authorities say $1.3 million worth of marijuana was found in a load of cantaloupes after a motor transportation officer checked a truck parked in a no parking zone on an Interstate 40 off-ramp in eastern New Mexico near Tucumcari.

The officer who checked the vehicle became suspicious because the trucker’s logbook did not match his story, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

The agency says the officer then checked the truck to verify the cargo and found nearly 900 punds of marijuana bundled, boxed and stacked behind the cantaloupes.

Authorities say the trucker and the load were turned over to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

The melons from California were bond for North Carolina.