No arrests. But Sheriff Joe Arpaio blames 'illegals' for smuggling ton of pot in latest seizure

The pick-up and some of the ton of marijuana
seized by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's boys. (MCSO) Somebody in the public relations department of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona has a wicked sense of humor even though, or perhaps because, s/he works for Joe Arpaio. A release posted on the MCSO web site Tuesday states that the 2094.5 pounds of marijuana intercepted Monday night has a "precise street value of [...] $1,047,250." Uh-huh.

That's not the only exactitude noted in the release:

In this last month, Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies have now arrested
more than 20 illegal aliens and seized nearly two tons of marijuana.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says, 'Drug trafficking is increasing involving illegal aliens and I am preparing for another drug and illegal alien crime suppression operation.'

Just one problem. One would get the impression that some "illegals" were arrested along with the 80 packages jammed into that truck. But none were. They got away. So nobody knows who they were. The truck's license plate was from Alberta, Canada. An MCSO spokesperson explained to the Phoenix New Times that other seizures in the area have involved undocumented aliens. He didn't say if any of them hailed from Canada. But, hey. If some of the pot gets brought in by "illegal" aliens, might as well assume all of its does, eh?

Given that racial profiling, discrimination and a "culture of bias" and mistreatment of Latinos are key complaints the U.S. Department of Justice developed in its three-year investigation of Arpaio and his department, you would think there would at least be an attempt to avoid such behavior going forward. But Sheriff Joe is all about being in everybody's face.

Apparently, the voters of Maricopa County approve. Despite his miserable record at dealing with real crime, as opposed to pot seizures, they've elected him five times to the sheriff's office. And even though he'll be 80 in June, he'll be running for his sixth term this fall. He has to. He needs more time to finish his investigation into where Barack Obama was really born.