The Litchfield Police Department seized $156,000 worth of marijuana and the airplane on which it was located on Saturday, March 9, at the Litchfield Municipal Airport.
Police were contacted by the federal Department of Homeland Security advising a small private plane they had been tracking with a suspicious flight plan and pattern had landed in Litchfield for fuel.
Litchfield officers, along with the department's drug sniffing dog, responded and contacted the occupants, a father and son from Edinboro, PA. The police K-9 alerted for the presence of narcotics in the plane.
Police asked for permission to search the plane and were denied, so a search warrant was pursued.
"The plane could not leave, but until actual narcotics were found, the occupants were not in custody," Litchfield police chief BJ Wilkinson said. "In the time it took to secure the search warrant, the occupants contacted a local cab and disappeared. Identities and the home addresses of the occupants are known from earlier contact, and warrants for arrest and extradition are being sought as the case remains under investigation by the Litchfield Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
When police executed the warrant, they found 39 pounds of marijuana packaged for delivery and in three duffle bags.
The plane was secured and forfeiture proceedings were initiated, Wilkinson said.
"The Litchfield Police Department will pursue forfeiture of the plane to the city, at which time it will be sold via electronic auction and the proceeds used to supplement the department's budget for drug and alcohol enforcement equipment," the chief said.
Source: http://www.thejournal-news.net
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