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Public Safety

Man Outfitted Moving Trucks With Secret Compartments To Smuggle Marijuana

Man Outfitted Moving Trucks With Secret Compartments To Smuggle Marijuana
A former manager of a Temecula moving truck rental company has pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to conspiring to move more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana.

A former manager of a Temecula truck rental company has pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to conspiring to move more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana.

According to court documents, 42-year-old David Jeffrey Barragan, who managed Penske Truck Leasing, directed people to build secret compartments inside the trucks to hide pot.

He then told couriers to drive the trucks to states including Texas, Kentucky and Illinois.

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Barragan also admitted that he created false rental documents for the pot smugglers.

Barragan faces a mandatory 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Sentencing is scheduled for late April.

Last November, the discovery of two trucks filled with about 40 tons of marijuana at a Temecula traffic checkpoint led US federal authorities to two massive drug-smuggling tunnels along the border in San Diego.

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