Ultralight aircraft drops meth, getaway bike across US-Mexico border

USA TODAY
Border Patrol agents seized almost 130 pounds of methamphetamine along with other items in Calexico, California, after tracking an ultralight aircraft Dec. 16, 2018, that was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border Patrol agents seized almost 130 pounds of methamphetamine along with other items in Calexico, California, after tracking an ultralight aircraft Dec. 16, 2018, that was crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. Border Patrol agents made two arrests early Sunday after an ultralight aircraft crossed the border from Mexico lugging nearly 130 pounds of meth.

The aircraft was operating without any lights as it descended just north of Calexico, California, about 100 miles west of San Diego, before flying back toward Mexico.

Agents responded to the location, in the middle of a farm field, and discovered two brown zippered bags lying under heavy brush, a metallic cage and a bicycle. Agents crossed paths with two people, who were arrested on suspicion they were there to receive the dropped narcotics.

The 60 taped bundles contained a white powder-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, valued at more than $1.4 million.

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Both the subjects and the narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Ultralight aircraft not only pose a threat to legitimate air traffic in the vicinity but also to national security," Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said. "These aircraft are able to carry small payloads of dangerous cargo or dangerous people.”

What catches media attention more often are the tunnels that drug smugglers manage to dig in the Calexico area:

• On April 30, an Acapulco man who had operated a quarter-mile drug tunnel that ended in Calexico was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He had been arrested in March 2016 when officers also seized $1.2 million in marijuana and $22 million in cocaine, KNSD-TV, San Diego, reported.

• The previous day, three men were arrested in Mexicali, Calexico's sister city in Mexico, after police uncovered an unfinished tunnel of about 0.4 miles that had lights, a rail system and air conditioning to bring illegal drugs into the United States. On the U.S. side, officials said the traffickers had built a house specifically to conceal the tunnel, reported KYMA-TV, Yuma, Ariz.

• In March 2016, another nearly quarter-mile tunnel started in a Mexicali restaurant and ended in another house on the U.S. side specifically built to conceal the operation, KNSD-TV reported. When U.S. agents closed it, they also intercepted $6 million worth of marijuana.

Follow Nicole Hayden on Twitter: @Nicole_A_Hayden

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Ultralight aircraft drops meth, getaway bike across US-Mexico border