The Tribune

POLICE arrested two men from Venezuela who landed at the Crooked Island Airport after 11pm on Wednesday with suspected cocaine.

The drugs were brought to the capital last night.

Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said officers on Crooked Island became suspicious when they heard the sound of an aircraft hovering around the island’s airport after 11.45pm on Wednesday.

When officers arrived at the airport, they saw a plane parked on the runway.

ASP Peters said the officers approached the plane and saw two men running from the aircraft, leaving the door open.

Police pursued the suspects, captured them and took them back to the plane, where officers found 44 black bags containing suspected cocaine.

ASP Peters said police do not know where the plane came from.

However, the suspects are from Venezuela; one is 29 and the other is in his 60s.

When asked how the men were able to land at the airport, he said, “The Crooked Island Airport is not a 24-hour airport. Individuals have their skills whether it be illegal or legal in the world of aircraft so perhaps those individuals would have used their skills, knowing that our airport is not a 24-hour manned airport... or persons who may have been on the island assisting them may have placed markers at various points to guide them. So all of that is not determined at the moment.”

Up to press time, police had not determined the street value of the drugs. An investigation is ongoing.