4HolerPoler
17th Aug 2004, 19:45
Three Learjet 35s Seized in Drug Ring Bust
A drug bust reported last week netted Drug Enforcement Administration officials 141 pounds of cocaine, two handguns, an AK-47, approximately $700,000 in cash, the arrest of seven individuals and three Learjet 35s–one each in Georgia, Texas and New Jersey (Signature Flight Support ramp at Teterboro Airport). The aircraft seized were N38PS, registered to Sullivan Leasing in Oklahoma, and N354PM and N354LQ, both registered to Addison Express in Addison, Texas, according to FAA records. Those arrested included the organization’s ring leader, but no pilots, according to a DEA spokesman. The DEA said the Learjets were used to help smuggle cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico. The suspects used the aircraft over an unspecified period of time to fly nearly 2,000 pounds of cocaine from airports in Texas and Arizona to Teterboro. From there, it was driven to a Manhattan hotel and sold to the organization’s leader and others, according to court documents. The documents also said the jets then flew to Texas, California and Arizona with the cash proceeds from the sales. On each trip into Teterboro, the smugglers brought in between 100 and 200 pounds of cocaine and left with between $300,000 and $3 million in cash.
A drug bust reported last week netted Drug Enforcement Administration officials 141 pounds of cocaine, two handguns, an AK-47, approximately $700,000 in cash, the arrest of seven individuals and three Learjet 35s–one each in Georgia, Texas and New Jersey (Signature Flight Support ramp at Teterboro Airport). The aircraft seized were N38PS, registered to Sullivan Leasing in Oklahoma, and N354PM and N354LQ, both registered to Addison Express in Addison, Texas, according to FAA records. Those arrested included the organization’s ring leader, but no pilots, according to a DEA spokesman. The DEA said the Learjets were used to help smuggle cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico. The suspects used the aircraft over an unspecified period of time to fly nearly 2,000 pounds of cocaine from airports in Texas and Arizona to Teterboro. From there, it was driven to a Manhattan hotel and sold to the organization’s leader and others, according to court documents. The documents also said the jets then flew to Texas, California and Arizona with the cash proceeds from the sales. On each trip into Teterboro, the smugglers brought in between 100 and 200 pounds of cocaine and left with between $300,000 and $3 million in cash.