Mexican authorities believe that a stolen truck 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, Arizona, 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.
In 2011, a drug catapult was discovered near Naco, Arizona. Officials found the catapult attached to a trailer and abandoned just on the other side of the border.
Border Patrol spokesman Vicente Paco said finding cannons is rare and only happens every couple of years.
Smugglers also use ultralight aircraft to deliver drugs over the U.S.-Mexico border. The aircraft are like gliders, but with engines and the pilots are seated.
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One such aircraft crash landed in March 2014 in the Laguna Mountains. Officials discovered the wreckage and 250 pounds of marijuana but no pilot.
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.
