Suspected drug trafficking plane crashes, bursts into flames
(KYMA, KECY)-A small plane suspected of carrying drugs crashes on a highway Sunday in the southern Mexico state of Quintana Roo.
AP News reports the plane was arriving from South America and was being tracked since it entered Mexican airspace.
The Defense Department says two air force planes were dispatched to trail the jet and troops were flown to the landing site.
La matrÃcula de la aeronave aparentemente es XB-RCM y podrÃa estar relacionada con actividades ilÃcitas. Autoridades federales atendiendo la investigación. pic.twitter.com/VcjWywriOe
— Alberto Capella (@kpya) July 5, 2020
Further down the highway, towards the neighboring state of Yucatan, troops found a truck loaded with 13 sacks of cocaine weighing a total of about 850 pounds (390 kilograms).
No arrests were made.
07:50 horas en el tramo carretero Chunhuhub – José MarÃa Morelos en el Kilómetro 61, sobre la carretera una aeronave incendiándose. Evite la zona por favor. pic.twitter.com/pF90AvZh91
— Alberto Capella (@kpya) July 5, 2020
Reports say it's unclear whether the plane made an emergency landing and burst into flames, or whether traffickers set if afire as they often do.
The small plane landed near Felipe Carrillo Puerto, relatively far from the state’s tourist resorts.