Plane Tailed, Half-Ton of Cocaine Seized

Federal drug agents stalked an airplane from the Mexican border to the high desert of Inyo County on Tuesday, and with the help of a Navy helicopter arrested four men and seized half a ton of cocaine valued at $75 million, federal and local authorities disclosed Wednesday.

The four men, who were not identified by name but included a pilot from Riverside and two Mexican nationals, were being taken from Inyo County to federal court in Fresno, where a detention hearing is set for this afternoon.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Carl Faller in Fresno said the seizure was one of the largest ever in the 11-county Eastern District. “That’s a big bust by our standards,” he said.

U.S. Customs agents flying at high altitude spotted the Cessna 210 on radar Tuesday between Calexico and Tucson. Federal authorities said the aircraft was flying low--hedgehopping--in the manner of drug smugglers trying to evade radar.

After discovering that the aircraft had no registered flight plan, agents said, the Customs plane began following it. The plane touched down on an abandoned road near the Inyo County town of Darwin. About that time, a second government plane operated by Drug Enforcement Administration agents spotted a truck heading toward the Cessna and gave chase.

As three men loaded kilo bags of cocaine from the aircraft to the truck, one of the government planes buzzed overhead and the men drove off, agents said. The government planes, unable to keep chase, radioed for help from nearby China Lakes Naval Weapons Center.

A Navy Blackhawk helicopter had no trouble tracking down the suspects, three of whom had abandoned the truck and were running through the desert scrub.

“We had the INS, the DEA, Customs, federal prosecutors and four desperadoes come through here,” said Lone Pine Airport manager Bill Woodward, where the Cessna was being stored Wednesday. “It was quite a day.”

Special correspondent Benett Kessler contributed to this story.