Bail Refused for Pilot Arrested in Seizure of Cocaine-Laden Plane

The pilot who landed at the Santa Paula Airport on Wednesday with what authorities say was nearly 600 pounds of high-grade cocaine is being held without bail after appearing before a federal magistrate in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Daniel Wesley Allen, 52, whose most recent address was near Santa Barbara, was arraigned in U.S. District Court. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Allen has refused to tell authorities where he now lives or give them other basic information. His pilot’s license places his residence in Montecito, and the plane he was flying is registered to a company that once used a Santa Monica address, according to records.

The government is charging Allen with possession of more than 5 kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Additional charges may follow, including drug importation and firearms counts, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick McLaughlin, who is prosecuting the case.

Allen is being represented by Deputy Federal Public Defender Amy Karlin, who was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The government’s request that Allen be refused bail was granted by U.S. Magistrate Brian Q. Robbins.

“We felt that he poses a significant flight risk and also poses a danger to the community,” McLaughlin said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 27, but McLaughlin said a grand jury indictment could be issued before then. In that event, Allen would appear in court Aug. 31.

Allen was arrested Wednesday by U.S. Customs Service agents and officers from the Santa Paula Police Department after a customs plane followed his Cessna 320 once it crossed the Mexico border into California.

Allen, who had been flying low, as if to avoid radar, apparently landed the plane in Santa Paula because it was low on fuel, authorities said. A Customs Service affidavit says the plane carried 30 gallons when it was seized.

On board the twin-engine aircraft were 14 duffel bags containing about 268 kilograms--or about 590 pounds--of cocaine, with a wholesale value of $4.1 million to $4.8 million, according to federal authorities.

According to an affidavit by customs agent Robert Czyrklis that was filed Thursday, Allen had a .22-caliber revolver in his pants pocket. A search of the plane also revealed a loaded .38-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a loaded Glock 9 millimeter pistol, the affidavit states.

McLaughlin said investigators still don’t know where Allen’s trip started or where he was headed. The plane’s global positioning system indicated that the aircraft had flown over points “significantly south of the Mexican border,” the affidavit says.