Another drug plane landed in northern Belize early this morning, and, tonight police have no drugs, and no suspects. In fact all they have is the headache of figuring how to move a very large and valuable aircraft from off a village road. Jules Vasquez has details:..
Jules Vasquez reporting
The jet was found on the San Estevan/Progresso Road early this morning.
It's a British Aerospace 125 700 - commonly known as the Hawker Siddeley 125, described as a mid-sized business jet.
But the business here was drugs, so this one had no seats for passengers inside: all that had been cleared away for a massive drug cargo.
And while the aircraft appears to be intact, under the wings are scorched - from where the crew apparently tried - unsuccessfully - to set it on fire.
This may be some of the accelerant on the ground.
To be sure, it's an impressive machine - especially here - stuck on the edge of a village road, incongruously towering over the arid and bushy landscape.
And to just leave it dumped here - indicates how valuable the cargo must have been.
The call letters point us to registration say it was manufactured in 1983 - and registered in the US, Petersburg Virginia - last certified in 2017.
Police had a strong presence out there today - but, again, closing the stable gates after the horse has bolted. We're told police had intelligence and had teams deployed in the Orange Walk District last night, but this jet eluded the radar and made a safe landing and unloading
The question is now how will they get it out of here. Engineers came to assess its airworthiness - and the problem would be finding a pilot since none in Belize can fly a jet.
One theory is that the plane chose to land on this flat straight road - but then, it couldn't turn to takeoff - it's just a theory - but we need something to start to dispel the mystery
Because these abandoned drug planes are piling up - this is the 7th found in Belize since November of 2017 - and there has been no drugs found, no arrests made. And if 7 were left behind, imagine how many landed and took off again without detection or interception.
As we understand it, police had four teams deployed in northern Belize last night on the lookout for an illicit landing, but they were unable to make the intercept since the jet apparently flew below the radar.
Civil Aviation says it's strictly a police matter since aircraft used for clandestine activities are not the purview of the Department of Civil Aviation.
Email
Print