Yuma-area Border Patrol agents arrested 15 immigrants in connection with a possible smuggling network Tuesday, seizing 350 pounds of marijuana in the process, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

Agents from the Yuma Sector’s Special Operations Detachment first tracked one group of Mexican immigrants, who were in the country illegally, near the border, agency spokesman Brett Worsencroft said.

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Agents found items associated with illegal smuggling networks nearby, he said, including two-way radios, batteries, cellphones and binoculars.

While tracking a second group, agents discovered about 350 pounds of marijuana worth $175,000, Worsencroft said. 

The agents later came upon nine more people and arrested them, he said.

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