Luckiest Ford Dealer in America Finds $1 Million of Weed Inside Mexican-built Fusions
Likely the answer to the prayers of one very bored sales representative, an Ohio-based Ford dealership was issued a batch of Mexican-built Fusions sedans with roughly $1 million of marijuana hidden inside. The vehicles were assembled in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and shipped by rail into a CSX yard in Lordstown before making their way to a Youngstown Ford dealer.
According to the local police department, the dealership gradually discovered the marijuana between July 7th and July 11th — packaged in half-moon containers covertly stored in the spare-tire compartment under the trunk’s lining. Since it’s unlikely this is a bold new promotional strategy on the part of Ford, authorities are currently trying to uncover who was supposed to take delivery of the drugs before they arrived at the dealer lot.
“Clearly, something went wrong,” Silverio Balzano, the agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Youngstown office, told CNN. “Generally speaking, they could take it off anywhere else along the way.”
The packages, which resembled a 32 pound half-wheel of cheese, have cropped up before. “This is the first time I’ve seen it locally,” Balzano explained, but identical seizures were made earlier this year in Minnesota and the Phoenix.
In March, authorities in Dilworth, Minnesota also discovered drugs packed into Fusions shipped from Mexico. Seven vehicles were found to have similarly concealed packages of marijuana after the police department directed dealers to carefully inspect any new product shipped to them by rail.
At the time, the FBI estimated that over 1,000 pounds of weed had been captured by local agencies — and all of it hidden in the back of Ford’s conservative midsize sedan. One vehicle was even sold with the drugs still in the trunk.
“We’re aware of the situation and are taking it very seriously,” a Ford Motor Company spokesman said on Saturday. “We are working with the FBI and Customs on an extensive investigation. We have confirmed that this is not happening at our plant or at our internal shipping yards.”
CSX Transportation, Ford said, has specified it is cooperating with authorities by “providing all the support [it] can to the agencies who are investigating this serious crime and will continue to do so.”
This goes without saying but, if you’ve purchased a new Ford Fusion within the last few months, it might be worth your while to check the trunk for an extremely dope surprise.
[Image: Ford Motor Company]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Much better than cash on the hood. Now Chevy is going to have to step it up. Perhaps 8balls for the Malibu.
Should have put "lucky" in quotes, as I'm sure the authorities damaged the vehicles searching them for more contraband, and perhaps even impounded them indefinitely.