Security forces seize cannabis worth £216m in Mexico drugs bust

Mexican security forces have seized at least 105 tonnes of US-bound marijuana in the border city of Tijuana, the biggest pot bust in recent years.

Soldiers and police grabbed the drugs in pre-dawn raids in three neighbourhoods after police arrested 11 people following a shoot-out, army General Alfonso Duarte Mujica said at a news conference on Monday evening.

The marijuana was found wrapped in 10,000 packages, which were displayed by soldiers in masks. Gen Duarte said the drugs had an estimated street value in Mexico of $340 million (216.2m).

He said authorities were still counting the packages and the amount could rise.

The drugs, wrapped in different colours and labelled with apparently coded phrases and pictures including Homer Simpson, would be incinerated after the weighing and counting, the general said.

The bust began when police came under fire from a convoy of vehicles, Gen Duarte said.

One officer and one suspect were injured.