WESTON, Mass. (AP) – A tractor-trailer truck on the Massachusetts Turnpike crashed into the woods after an abortive hijacking attempt – and police said they found 800 pounds of marijuana in the smashed-up vehicle.

The two men riding in the truck, which was carrying rolls of paper from Ontario, Canada, to North Carolina, were arrested on marijuana trafficking charges, State Police Trooper James Vines said Saturday.

Police were still investigating – and looking for the three masked men who had tried to hijack the truck, Vines said.

The truck was traveling westbound on the Turnpike at about 10:30 p.m. Friday just before the Interstate 495 exit when three men in masks driving a white van stopped it, Vines said. One of the masked men jumped on board the truck and it continued on, Vines said.

The hijacker wanted the truck to turn off at the Interstate 495 exit, but it continued past the exit. After a struggle for the steering wheel, the truck crashed 50 feet into the woods a little farther down the road in Hopkinton. The would-be hijacker and his two accomplices, who had been following the truck in the van, escaped.

When the damaged truck was being removed from the woods, police, with the help of a State Police dog, discovered that it contained 15 bags, 4 boxes, and three duffel bags of what looked like marijuana, Vines said.

Harjiven Cheema, 31, and Harpreet Chahal, 25, both of Ontario, Canada, were being held in the Weston State Police lockup, pending arraignment Tuesday in Waltham District Court, Vines said.

AP-ES-05-24-03 2042EDT

Copy the Story Link