WESTON, Mass. (AP) – State police said Sunday they had fielded hundreds of phone tips and were following some good leads in their search for several men who tried to hijack a truck that was carrying hundreds of pounds of marijuana.

The tractor-trailer crashed into the woods by the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Hopkinton on Friday night after the hijacking attempt. Police said they discovered 800 pounds of marijuana as they were preparing to move the damaged truck.

Two men riding in the truck, which was carrying rolls of paper from Ontario, Canada, to North Carolina, were arrested on marijuana trafficking charges.

But State Police Trooper Todd Glidden said Sunday that police were still searching for the three masked men who had tried to hijack the truck.

Glidden said police were asking people to call who might be able to provide more information about the white van that the three men were riding in. Police believe it may have been a U-Haul cargo van.

He said police were following up on “a couple of good leads.”

The incident happened as the tractor-trailer traveled westbound on the Turnpike heading towards the Interstate 495 exit at about 10:30 p.m. Friday.

Police say the hijackers were able to stop the truck and one hijacker was able to get into the cab, while the others followed in the van. After a struggle for the truck’s wheel, the truck crashed. All three would-be hijackers escaped.

Harjiven Cheema, 31, and Harpreet Chahal, 25, both of Ontario, Canada, who remained with the truck, were being held in the Weston State Police lockup, pending arraignment Tuesday.

in Waltham District Court. Police said they denied knowing the drugs were in their trailer.

AP-ES-05-25-03 1337EDT

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