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In the marijuana boom of the 1980’s, the Northern Highway - with its long stretches of pavement was the runway of choice for drug planes. It got so bad that at one point, that upright poles were erected on the shoulders of the highway to prevent planes from landing. But those days have gone, and for some time we haven’t heard of drug planes landing on one of Belize’s main highways. But it happened this morning - a sign of either increased desperation or daring on the part of drug runners. And while it had all signs of being a narco-plane, no drugs were found. And why is that? I went to Orange Walk to find out today.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
A twin engine Beechcraft with a Venezuelan flag on its tail wing and what local authorities believe to be a fake registration number YV678, landed at mile forty one on the Northern Highway sometime after one this morning. Police say the unidentified pilot carried a drug cargo and jet fuel and was met on the ground by armed masked men who had earlier cleared the road for the landing. Motorists who were stopped informed the police.

ASP Bart Jones, Commander - Anti-Drug Unit
“Police in Orange Walk received a call that there were armed masked men on the Northern Highway between miles 40 and 41 on the highway stopping vehicles. As a result they alerted the Belize Defense Force and as well the Anti-Drug Unit and all teams responded.”

7NEWS understands that the plan was for the plane to land, drop off the drugs, refuel, and then take off again – heading back to where it came from. But as the plane was being refueled, BDF soldiers pulled up to the scene. There was an exchange of gunfire as the suspects opened fire on the soldiers.

ASP Bart Jones,
“They immediately came under fire, they responded in kind and as a result the men who appeared to have been refueling the aircraft ran into the nearby bushes and a truck, that was beside the aircraft, also sped off in the nearby bushes as well.”

However five of the bullets tore through the truck’s windshield possibly injuring its driver believed to be a Belizean national who police know and is being sought.

Robert Mariano, Commander – Orange Walk Police
“So we have not found anybody injured and none of the BDF are injured. However we believe that one person who was in the small truck had been injured because there is some trace of blood in the front of the vehicle and there are gunshots on the windshield which show that the person who was driving the vehicle had received some kind of gunshot wound.”

To the rear of the truck police found a nine hundred gallon rotoplast tank that authorities believe was used to refuel the aircraft. The truck’s Orange Walk license plates were also found in the cab of the vehicle. Police do not know just how many were on board, but they all got away, leaving behind some evidence for authorities to retrieve. At this time, police don’t know if the drug cargo was dropped at another location before the plane landed or if it was hauled away from the scene. But when the law enforcement officers searched the aircraft, all they found was jet fuel:

ASP Bart Jones,
“We saw nine containers, about 15 gallon containers, with jet fuel and as well no one was in the area at the time and we are investigating this matter.”

But while no drugs were found police strongly believe there was a large quantity of it on the plane.

Robert Mariano,
“We cannot say how much at this time but I can safely say, because of the size of the plane, it would be around a ton or more.”

ASP Bart Jones,
“We believe that the cargo that it brought may have been offloaded. We believe that it brought a shipment of drugs, that is our belief at this time. However we have no other evidence to support it at this time and we believe it was offloaded onto vehicles that may have been in the area and the other guys that were here upon the arrival of the BDF were refueling the plane for it to return.”

As police and BDF extended their search they found five Belizeans all Orange Walk residents about a quarter mile away from where the plane landed. They are suspected to be local contacts.

Robert Mariano,
“They were found on the Northern Highway, just about half hour from the scene itself and they were unable to give account of themselves. Whilst I am not afraid to say or it is just right for me to say a few of them have given confessions and said to the police exactly what had happened.”

According to the Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo he cannot say if the BDF’s radar had detected the aircraft as it entered our airspace. He did say though that they had intelligence of an impending drop but they didn’t know where it would take place. Perdomo says they suspect the plane came from Colombia.

Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security
“We had gotten some previous that there might have been a drop but with these cases like this you don’t know if it is down south, you don’t know if it is on the cayes, you don’t know if it is Sarteneja. We had intelligence and the radars do work to track the plane at night but sometimes they would fly around for hours and our territory is so narrow that sometimes the plane would come across Belize but you don’t know if it will land.”

And approximately eight hours after landing at mile forty one on the Northern Highway the plane, disabled by the gunfire was pulled off to the side of the road to traffic that had been interrupted for hours to run smoothly.

ASP Bart Jones,
“When the BDF returned fire, in the process the aircraft was damaged and as a result it is not considered air worthy at this time. So what the mechanics are doing is, I believe, they will be taking off the wings and the aircraft will be transported to Ladyville.”

The investigation will be headed by the Anti Drug Unit while the Police and BDF have now expanded their search for the key suspects who are believed to still be hiding out somewhere in the Northern District. Three years ago that a similar incident unfolded also in the Orange Walk District.

Carlos Perdomo,
“We are dealing with some very intelligent criminals, so they change their modus operandi. The job of the police and the security forces is to try to figure out where they may be moving next. But I think one difference will be is that the policy of this government is to go after them a little harder.”

But Perdomo admits it will be a difficult battle to fight.

Carlos Perdomo,
“These plane drops are part of a transnational crime ring so I don’t know if there is anything we in Belize can do to stop it. What we have to do is to be smart enough and intelligent enough in our intelligence work and in operational work to try to interdict them. What we are doing now is to sit down to try and fine tune it to try to put maybe more ideas that will lead to better interdiction, better mobility, better equipment, better cooperation with our international police partners.”

According to ASP Bart Jones the plane should be out of the area by the end of the day.

And the latest development is that the man who police believe was driving the vehicle was arrested this afternoon. He was found at his home in Orange Walk with injuries to his leg and back. Those injuries are believed to have been sustained in the firefight with the BDF. He is held pending charges – bringing the total number detained to 6. Their names will only be released if and until they are charged.