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Drug plane makes quick stop in Belize

GeneralDrug plane makes quick stop in Belize

SAN VICTOR VILLAGE Corozal District, Tues. Nov. 2, 2021 — The Belize Police Department is carrying out an extensive search in the northwestern part of Corozal in an effort to locate cargo that was possibly unloaded in the vicinity of San Victor and San Narciso Village from a small aircraft that briefly landed in the area then departed between 2:00 and 3:00 this morning.

Residents of the nearby villages reported seeing a suspected narco-jet hovering in the sky in a manner that has become characteristic of drug planes, which fly very low and circle the proposed landsite. However, unlike normal drug-unloading operations that occur in Belize, this specific jet only made a brief landing — presumably to refuel before restarting its journey.

Customarily, drug jets which land in the area are unloaded and burned, or simply abandoned, after cargo is extracted. The short duration of the plane’s stop in Belize, however, is a possible indication that Belize was not its intended destination, but rather a hub for refueling. Reportedly, police have found a small airfield that is surrounded by support lights that is believed to have been used to guide the suspected narco-jet. Some San Victor residents have also reported that they noticed some activity taking place around 3:00 in the morning and saw some vehicles going to the Rio Hondo. Scenes of Crime personnel have canvassed the area and processed the scene in an effort to find any evidence or clues that might be of assistance in the investigation. Heavy police presence remains in the area.

When interviewed by local media, the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, detailed the operations that were carried out to track this bizarre flight. He said, “Last night we received information of a suspected aircraft coming our way from South America. As we would normally do, JIOC, which is the Joint Intelligence Operation Center, began to mobilize and deploy members of the security forces to different locations where we anticipated this suspect aircraft may land, and just around 2:00 or thereabouts this morning, we were informed by a Mexican air asset that a plane had landed somewhere in the north.”

Mexican air assets have been guiding the entire investigation in northern Belize. Based on their intelligence, Belize Police Department officers were deployed to the projected landing spots for the plane. Mexican air assets suggested that the airplane is a small vessel — presumably a small CESSNA single-engine plane that only remained for a short time on Belizean territory.

The Police Department continues to investigate the incident.

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