Auto Workers Find 150 Pouns Of Weed Stashed In Gas Tank

ST. PAUL -- A couple from Washington state faces charges after auto workers found more than 150 pounds of marijuana in their pickup's jerry-rigged gas tank and alerted police.

The 48-year-old man and 62-year-old woman were being held in the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. They told investigators they were driving from Yakima, Wash., to Chicago, according to Kent Bailey, acting agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Twin Cities office.

"Their bad luck is their vehicle had some fuel problems and they ended up taking it into a Midas Shop," Bailey said.

He said the fuel problems might have been caused by some marijuana getting loose in the tank. Also, the tank couldn't hold much gas, so the pair might have had to fuel up every 100 miles or so.

At the auto shop on the East Side, where the couple stopped Monday, mechanic Daniel Ries noticed the truck had a modified gas tank with fresh weld marks. When the two were told the tank needed to be replaced, they were "adamant" that the repair wasn't needed, Bailey said. Eventually, they relented but insisted that the pickup's old tank be saved.

Workers, who became suspicious and called police, found that the gas tank had been converted into two compartments; one contained fuel while the other had 157 pounds of marijuana worth about $157,000, Bailey said.

Bailey credited Ries for recognizing something was suspicious. "That's exactly what we need, because we don't have enough law enforcement to cover every corner," he said. "It was absolutely sharp thinking."

Using the phone number the duo left with Midas, investigators tracked them to the Hastings Inn and arrested them. They found 700,000 Mexican pesos, equivalent to about $64,000.

AP

Man Tried To Bail Himself Out With Cocain

SOUTHBURY, Conn. -- A man's plans to bail himself out after a drug bust went more than a bit awry over the weekend.

With the aid of a drug-sniffing dog, police found 48 grams of cocaine on the 32-year-old man after pulling him over for speeding, police said.

The suspect then arranged for his aunt to bring a small safe which he claimed contained money for his bail. But when his aunt opened the safe in front of a state trooper, they found cash, drug paraphernalia and another 16 grams of cocaine, police said.

Additional drug charges were filed against the man and his bond was increased to $125,000. He was later bailed out by another relative, police said.

The suspect was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and speeding.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.

Your Ringtone, Your Identity

Washington Post: Whenever his cell phone rings, which is a lot, Delvon Murray, 18, hears "My Boo," the Alicia Keys-Usher duet. Whenever his girlfriend's cell phone rings, she hears "In Love Wit Chu" from hip-hop artist Da Brat.

These days, your cell phone identity goes beyond whether you get free weekend minutes or an expanded nationwide calling plan.

It's in the model of the phone you choose -- a $602 Motorola V3 that weighs about three ounces, or one of those giveaway phones you get just by signing up? It's in the ringing of your phone, too -- and the good ol' Ring! Ring! Ring! in your cell phone, Murray says, is so two years ago, when your choices in ring tones ranged from "The Star-Spangled Banner" to Beethoven's "Fur Elise."

This is a breakout year for tones, the 20- to 30-second synthesized versions of songs that play when cell phones ring, like an audible caller ID. They've been the rage in Western Europe and Asia, particularly in South Korea (news - web sites) and Japan, in the past two years, says IDC, a market research firm based in Framingham, Mass. But the United States, with younger consumers leading the way, is catching on fast.