Border Patrol agents at the U.S. 70 checkpoint near Alamogordo seized nearly 700 pounds of marijuana and took two Jamaican nationals into custody on Monday, the Alamogordo Daily News reported.

The two men, who originally claimed to be U.S. citizens, turned out to be Jamaican nationals with prior criminal records but are legal permanent residents of this country with no current warrants, the Border Patrol said in a news release.

The driver, a 36-year-old man, and his 34-year-old passenger displayed some unusual mannerisms and gave conflicting answers to a routine series of questions, according to the news release.

When the 2004 tractor-trailer cab was searched, several black duffel bags were found in the sleeper area, which the driver at first described as military equipment, the Daily News reported.

A further search uncovered 31 bundles containing a total of 694 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $555,680, the paper said.

The suspects, contraband and trailer were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Las Cruces, according to the Daily News.

Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said the names of the Jamaicans were not being released since they were turned over to the DEA, which has a policy of not releasing the names of suspects until they are formally indicted, the Daily News reported.

"We don't want to jeopardize the integrity of the case before it goes to trial," said Mosier. 

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