VAN NUYS : Impounded Plane Given to L.A. Police

Federal customs officials presented to Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates at Van Nuys Airport on Thursday the keys to a Piper Navajo airplane held in storage since 1987 pending appeals following drug arrests at Burbank Airport, a department spokesman said.

The owner of the aircraft lost a court appeal against the government’s right to claim the property, Officer Bill Frio said. Under federal law, vehicles used in drug trafficking are subject to seizure.

The plane was confiscated in August, 1987, at the end of a yearlong investigation by Los Angeles narcotics detectives and customs agents, Frio said.

The Piper was seized at Burbank Airport by officers who arrested four men who arrived in it from Tucson, including the plane’s owner, Luis Aguirre, 44, of Los Angeles, Frio said.

No drugs were aboard the plane, but officers discovered 60 pounds of marijuana and 237 grams of cocaine in Aguirre’s home, which were believed to have been transported on the aircraft, police said.

The Police Department intends to use the confiscated aircraft to transport investigators, witnesses and prisoners, Frio said.

The department already owns a single-engine Cessna, bought more than 10 years ago with federal grant money, that can carry six people.

The new plane, worth about $150,000, has two engines and can carry seven people.