The 2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust was a 2006 arrest that resulted in the seizure of 5.5 tons of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

in the Mexican city of

Ciudad del Carmen Ciudad del Carmen or Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. , Ciudad d ...

. The drugs were smuggled into the country using a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15. Both plane and drugs were seized by Mexican authorities; according to the United States

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

(DEA), it was one of the largest seizures of narcotics in recent Mexican history.

Drug seizure

The aircraft departed

Simón Bolívar International Airport Simón Bolívar International Airport may refer to: * Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela) in Maiquetía, Venezuela, near Caracas * Simón Bolívar International Airport (Colombia) in Santa Marta, Colombia * José Joaquín de Olmedo I ...

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

on the afternoon of April 10, 2006. Approximately 90 minutes into the flight, it returned to the Caracas airport and refueled before resuming its flight. Rather than continue on its reported flight plan, however, the plane made an emergency landing at the

airport, claiming hydraulic problems with the landing gear. Mexican army troops were waiting for the plane on its arrival. When they boarded the aircraft, they found 5.5 tons of cocaine packed into 128 identical black suitcases. According to news reports, the pilot of the DC-9, who was in the process of filing a new flight plan and was no longer aboard the plane, escaped, but the co-pilot was arrested. In addition, the crew of a Mexican registered business jet that had also landed at the airport was also arrested after acting suspiciously by paying the exit fees for the DC-9. In 2007 the DEA claimed the seizure was one of Mexico's largest, referring to it as one of the highlights of a DEA program called "Operation All Inclusive".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 Mexico Dc-9 Drug Bust 2006 in Mexico 2006 in Venezuela Illegal drug trade in Mexico McDonnell Douglas DC-9 2006 crimes in Mexico