Another apparent drug plane has landed in Belize - but this one was a crash landing. And it's not just a "drug plane" - this one is a drug jet - resembling a Gulfstream G2 - commonly used by large corporations. It happened early this morning before dawn in Blue Creek, Orange Walk. No drug cargo or personnel were found onboard. Police and BDF are on the scene. More on 7News this evening.

Channel 7

Narco-Jet Crash Lands in Northern Belize

Another mystery narco-plane crash landed this morning in Blue Creek, Orange Walk, near the border with Mexico. Except, this time it's a narco-JET - one of those fancy corporate ones, a Gulf-stream G2 valued at about $6 million US dollars.

But, this is not a clear-cut case like the early September Coastal Road drug bust where police caught the foreign traffickers red handed with over 2,900 pounds of cocaine. In this case, their intel was off and by the time police got on the scene, all they found were two snapped halves of the jet lying on the side of the road; No drugs, no passengers. All the seats were also in-tact which implies that it could have been human cargo on the plane. Police have done tests on the jet and are looking at all angles. Today at the press briefing at police headquarters in Belmopan, Commissioner Chester Williams discussed the information they have so far.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Some time after 4am, police responded to an area in Blue Creek just at the Belize Mexican border, very close to the border and there they discovered a white jet. It was partially split in half. Inside the jet the seats were still there, it had all the seats. We went ahead and did the processing, in terms of determine if in fact any illicit item may have come on board it, but the result of those tests are still pending. At this time there is not much information other than to say that while the police were responding they encountered a few obstacles that delayed their response a bit, ut by the time they got to the location they didnt find anyone and there was no cargo inside the plane."

Reporter
"What obstacles, sir?"

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I am not going to go in details."

Reporter
"You didn't have an estimate time when the plane crashed?"

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We believe it was around 4:30-4:45am thereabouts."

Reporter
"Did the police received prior information of this plane possible landing as was the case with the last plane landing where police intercept the plane and seized a number of drugs?"

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Yes, we did get prior information and we had officers deployed in another area in Blue Creek where we had anticipated it would have landed, but it went closer to the Mexican border. So where the officers were was like 10-15 minutes to where the plane actually land and by the time they got to the location there were no one in site. You would know that every other drug plane that we have found do not have any seats inside. This one had all the seats. So I cannot say what cargo, if any was on board the plane and I don't want to speculate, so I am not going to say anything much further. We will see if the tests results will say whether or not there is residue of any type of drugs in plane and then we go from there."

We will keep following this case to see what the test results show.

Experts we spoke to who studied the pictures, noted that the thrust reversers on the engine are out - meaning that the plane was trying to pull up.

Information from the area says that it was flying about half an hour above the other side of the border before it crash landed.

Channel 7

No Drugs Found on Business Type Jet that Crash Landed in Blue Creek

Just eleven days ago, a Beechcraft Super King Air Two Hundred landed on an illegal airstrip off the Coastal Road. Sixty million dollars worth of cocaine were confiscated from the plane and eight men from Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico have been charged and are spending time at the Hattieville prison. This morning, a much larger aircraft, an executive jet, landed near Blue Creek, another known hotspot for the transhipment of drugs. When police got to the scene, the aircraft was abandoned; no one was nearby nor was there any sight of cargo. Access to the area was blocked. Because of the circumstances, police are investigating that the jet was transporting drug traffickers.  Here is Dalila Ical with that story.

Dalila Ical, Reporting

This is as close as police allowed us to get to the jet that crash landed a few minutes after four o’clock this morning along this dirt road in Blue Creek, Orange Walk, close to a Mexican community. The area around Blue Creek is known as a hot spot for drugs transhipment. The aircraft, typical to a business type jet, is about a mile further down the road. This is actually a road used by farmers in the area, part of which is a legal airstrip for small agricultural aircrafts that is marked by red and white drums.  A team of heavily armed police officers, led by Orange Walk Commanding officer, Juanito Cocom stood guard in this area.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“There they discovered a white jet. It was partially split in half. Inside the jet the seats were still there. It had all the seats. We went ahead and did the processing in terms of trying to determine if in fact any illicit item may have come on board it but the results of those tests are still pending.”

The police’s response was immediate because according to the Commissioner, police had received intel prior to the jet’s arrival.

Chester Williams

“We did get prior information and we had officers deployed in another area in Blue Creek where we had anticipated it would have landed but it went closer to the Mexican border. So, where the officers were was like ten to fifteen minutes where the plane actually landed and by the time they got to the location there was no one inside.”

The jet landed approximately two point five miles away from the Mexican border. We understand that a small community is located in that area in Mexico. It appears a carefully calculated move, especially since police encountered obstacles along the road.  First, they encountered a tire spike strip near the BAHA post just before Blue Creek Village. Some fifteen miles after, police came across burning tires and large tree branches blocking the road.

Chester Williams

“They encountered a few obstacles that delayed their response a bit but by the time they got to the location they didn’t find anyone and there was no cargo in the plane.”

Commissioner Williams adds that this is the largest jet that has landed illegally in Belize. A smaller one had landed in San Estevan back in April of 2018 but all seats were missing.  The possibility that this aircraft was transporting narco-traffickers is under investigation.

Chester Williams

“Every other drug plane that we have found does not have any seat inside. This one have all the seats so I cannot say what cargo, if any, was on board the plane and i don’t want to speculate. So, I am not going to say anything further. We will see if the test results will say whether or not there is residue of any type of drugs on the plane and then we go from there.”

Channel 5

Legal business people do not abandon their plane if it crashes usually!!! 6M dollar plane abandoned I think the cargo was worth much more!!

It's best they start landing at PGIA with the supervision of air traffic control. When I was younger these landings were very rare... one maybe every 2 years. It baffles me at the alarming rate of these landing, there was one about 2 weeks ago before this jet landing. Belize has no radars?

Crashed Narco-Jet’s Contents Found In Mexico?

Earlier this week we told you that a Gulfstream G2 narco-jet crash landed in Blue Creek, Orange Walk, near the border with Mexico.

By the time police got on the scene, all they found were two snapped halves of the jet lying on the side of the road; No drugs, no passengers.

Following the plane landing in Belize on Monday, there was coordination with Mexican Authorities who launched a full land and air operation in an effort to intercept the drugs and narco-traffickers.

Now it seems that the Mexican army has discovered the jet's cargo on their side of the border. Yesterday in a press release, Mexico's Ministry of National Defense, Sedena reported that information lead them to a huge stash of drugs, weapons and vehicles, in the town of Tomás Garrido Canabal, Quintana Roo.

Mexican police believe that, given the timing and proximity of the find, the drugs are connected to the crashed aircraft.

Searches around the town, led to the discovery of 48 sacks of cocaine with 20 packages each. The total weight is a bit over 2,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in the undergrowth of a bushy area. Two vehicles and three firearms were also abandoned on the site.

The drugs have an estimated market value of just over 24 million BZD, according to Sedena.

Channel 7

960 Kilos of Cocaine Found on Mexican Side 2 Days after Jet Crash Lands in Belize

Earlier this week, a Gulfstream jet was found damaged and abandoned near the Blue Creek community at a feeder road. It had all the seats inside so the thinking was that it transported a drug king pin but not the drugs. Well today, Mexican newspapers are reporting the find of a significant amount of parcels of cocaine at Tomas Garrido, a community about sixteen miles from Blue Creek and as close as one point five miles from the Rio Hondo. The cocaine was parcelled off and weighed in at nine hundred and sixty kilos and put at a street value of thirty million dollars. Local police said today they have no further information on the dug jet but the Mexicans are linking it to the narco-jet on this side of the border.  Here is News Five’s Hipolito Novelo with a report.

Hipolito Novelo, Reporting

Mexican law enforcement authorities discovered some nine hundred and sixty kilos of cocaine buried beneath the earth in the Tomás Garrido community in Mexico. The drug was in forty eight sacks, each sack contained twenty blocks of cocaine which has a street value of two hundred and thirty seven million pesos or close thirty million dollars.

The discovery was made one a half mile from the Rio Hondo River and some sixteen miles away from Blue Creek Village. The discovery was made a few days after this jet crash landed in Blue Creek Village. No drugs were found inside the executive jet but Mexican authorities suspect that the cocaine is linked to the failed landing of the jet on this side of the border.

Also found at the scene were several firearms and two vehicles.  The insured vehicle, drug and weapons were turned over to the corresponding authorities.

Channel 5