An abandoned helicopter, presumably used for narco-trafficking, is currently in the custody of the Belize Defense Force. The Bell aircraft was found on Wednesday afternoon on a feeder road in the Blue Creek area, Orange Walk District. Just prior to the find, the Anti-Narcotics Unit received intelligence that the helicopter was circling in the San Felipe/Blue Creek area, which is notoriously known for illicit drug activity. At about three o’clock, the helicopter was located, but its occupants were nowhere to be found nor were drugs found. But inside the aircraft, officers found several blue plastic containers with fuel adopted for longer flights. The helicopter is grey in color, it has dark tinted windows with registration number is N607AZ which is believed to have been altered. This afternoon, the B.D.F. Commandant, Brigadier General David Jones offered more details on the incident.
Brig. General David Jones, Commandant, B.D.F.
“After that aircraft was probably captured in the Blue Creek area, our B.D.F. pilots were requested to fly the helicopter into our air wing. That happened on Wednesday sometime about three o’clock in the afternoon and I was called later on to find out if our pilots can fly it. It is a Bell 407 Helicopter. And our pilots were able to fly it so they went to Blue Creek and the aircraft is now sitting at the air wing for us.”
Reporter
“Sir, where did this helicopter originate?”
David Jones
Brig. General David Jones
“We’re not clear on that. We’ve tried to find information in terms of the tail number on it. We’ve checked with our partners in Mexico and we’ve also checked with our partners all the way in Colombia, but they cannot ascertain who really owns that helicopter. What they’ve informed us is that the tail numbers on it may be misleading as to who owns it. So it is not ascertained at the moment who owns the helicopter. The fact is that we have the helicopter in custody and it is over at our air wing.”
Duane Moody
“So it is believed that it was used for an illegal activity?”
Brig. General David Jones
“That’s the strong belief that we have at the moment. The fact that it had a fuel pump apart from the tank that holds the fuel, there was a pump inside the helicopter itself so that when the main tank runs out, there was extra fuel inside the main cabin to pump fuel back inside the tank. So based on that, we suspect that it was used for illegal activities.”
Reporter
“And it was completely abandoned?”
Brig. General David Jones
“From what I understand…I did not get the information from the police, who was near it or if it was abandoned, but they will have to be the one to answer that question. Looking at that helicopter, it didn’t have anything luxury in it. The way it looked as if though it was going to be used for a long distance patrol because the portion where you have the seats, those were replaced by fuel containers. So it is packed with fuel containers so that when it reaches a certain journey, they can just refuel while in the air or they can go on the ground and refuel again.”
Reporter
“Can you talk to us about the technical aspects of the helicopter, what is it capable of doing and how can it help the B.D.F.?”
Brig. General David Jones
“It is a Bell 407 helicopter; it’s the same helicopter that our pilots have been trained to fly, so they can competently fly it. It can carry about four or five passengers in it. I can’t say yes it is going to be for the government of Belize as yet, because it is an ongoing investigation. Someone may come to claim it—it’s unlikely—but there is the possibility that someone may come and claim it.”
Because of the relative nearness to Mexico, it is believed that the pilot and occupants may have fled across the Mexican border.
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