TUCSON - A key member of a drug trafficking organization operating in southern Arizona was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to attempting to distribute nearly two tons of marijuana and using a sawed-off shotgun in the commission of the crime.

Eddie Lee Hodges, 40, of Arivaca, Ariz. was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The investigation began February 6, 2006, after ICE agents, assisted by U.S. Border Patrol agents, received information that a large quantity of marijuana was being stored in a trailer off of Ruby Road in Arivaca. When agents approached the trailer, they detected a strong marijuana odor and spotted Hodges fleeing on foot. The agents arrested Hodges, and seized approximately 177 bundles of marijuana weighing more than 3,900 pounds. Agents also discovered a loaded sawed-off shotgun, which Hodges admitted he was using to guard the marijuana until it could be transported to Tucson.

ICE received assistance in the investigation from its partners on the Arizona Border Enforcement Security Task Force (B.E.S.T.), including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Border Patrol. B.E.S.T. focuses on enforcing the interdiction and prosecution of cross-border organizations responsible for the smuggling of drugs, persons, money, and weapons into and from the United States.

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