Fully loaded: $1.4 million worth of weed found smuggled in new Ford Fusions

The 2017 Ford Fusion is a desirable car for a many reasons. It's attractively styled, fairly efficient, loaded with smart tech and boasts plenty of room for smuggling marijuana across the Mexican border. Wait, what?!

Alpha News in Minnesota reports that police in the state have found approximately 1,100 pounds of marijuana hidden in the trunks of around 22 brand-new Ford Fusions (and at least one Lincoln MKZ) manufactured and shipped by rail from Ford's Mexico plant between February and March of this year. The total street value of the seized drugs totals around $1.4 million.

It all started in February when St. Paul authorities discovered 80 pounds of marijuana hidden in the spare-tire wells of two Fusions staged for delivery in a railway vehicle holding lot. Digging deeper, authorities found that the vehicles were part of a larger group of 15 cars believed to be holding -- 13 of which had already been shipped to dealerships.

Police were able to track down the remaining cars at dealers and facilities in the region, each carrying about an approximately 40- to 60-pound round brick of reefer in their spare tire well. Later, Dilworth, Minnesota, police recovered an additional 217 pounds of wacky tobaccy in seven more Ford Fusions after rail employees discovered the drugs during a routine inspection.

Authorities speculate that the Mary Jane was placed in the vehicle's trunks by the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel as they were loaded onto train cars for shipment to the US. When the rail car reached its stateside destination, some bad hombres would then break in and recover the weed for distribution.

At least one of the loaded Fusions was recovered after having been sold to an 86 year-old man, so you might want to check your spare-tire well if you bought a new Ford Fusion in the past few months. After that, check out Alpha News' extensive report for more details including a possible "El Chapo" connection.