There is growing speculation in Jamaica that a plane that landed on the island recently may have been transporting illicit drugs from Mexico.
The aircraft landed on the shores of Rocky Point, off the coast of Clarendon, on Saturday night. When locals investigated the aircraft, they found no passengers nor cargo aboard and the seats had been removed from the plane.
Rocky Point is one of several nodes along Jamaica’s southern coast known to be hotspots in the illegal drug trade. Independent civil organization, Global Initiative, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, also noted that Rocky Point was notorious for being a hub in the deadly guns-for-drugs trade.
Police and civil aviation officials later revealed that the aircraft, registered in Mexico, had been de-registered. It is not yet known where the plane departed from, its flight plan, and what was its final intended destination. Several checks were subsequently made at nearby hospitals, but medical personnel reported that no one had arrived at their facilities from the crash site.
Residents allege that they saw Hispanic men in suits depart the aircraft after it landed.
“People who were on the spot to assist the men said that there were three men, Hispanic looking; not sure if it is Colombians or Mexicans. When they (residents) got to the plane, there was no cargo, just one bag was on the plane and it was full of gadgets, several iPhone 12s, MacBook Pros, a tracking device, a GPS system, and another piece of equipment they couldn’t identify,” said a source to Loop News.
Clarendon Police Operations Head, Superintendent Christopher Phillips said the police have launched an investigation to find the whereabouts of the operator and passenger(s) of the plane. Locals speculate that residents in the area may have given them refuge in exchange for money.
In the meantime, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority is also conducting an investigation. The agency’s Director-General Nari Williams-Singh says that there is no way that plane could have been legally operating without a valid registration. The plane has not been flown since January 2005.
The mysterious landing has raised concerns about possible drug trafficking taking place in Clarendon.
