Cannons apparently are smugglers' newest creation, said Adame, who's based in Tucson.

CNN: Mexican police nab drug-launching cannon near border

"They are definitely out of the ordinary, " Adame said.

CNN: Mexican police nab drug-launching cannon near border

"The smugglers were trying to pick these up before daylight, but there was probably an agent in the area, " Adame said, explaining why the smugglers on the U.S. side never collected the canisters that pockmarked the tilled land.

CNN: Mexican police nab drug-launching cannon near border