Airplane, part one

DOUGLAS, Ariz. - Mexican authorities believe that a stolen van outfitted with a cannon and parked near the U.S.-Mexico border was used to launch items into Douglas, Arizona.

Federal police found the van parked in a street in Agua Prieta, Mexico, which borders with Douglas, last week. The van was reported stolen out of Hermosillo over the summer.

Photos provided by Mexican authorities show a black van with a giant cannon coming out of it.



Drug smugglers have used similar methods in the past, including using catapults to literally send drugs flying over the border.

Border Patrol spokesman Vicente Paco said the most common method is throwing softball-sized marijuana packages over the border fence that are picked up by smugglers on the U.S. side.

He said finding cannons is rare and only happens every couple of years.