MIA-Bound Aircraft From Venezuela Was Diverted To TUL For Maintenance

The US Attorney's office in Tulsa, OK, isn't saying whose airplane it was, but ramp workers at Tulsa International found $250,000 worth of cocaine hidden inside an Airbus A300. The 15 kilos of coke were found in neatly-wrapped plastic packages, along with at least one other package of marijuana.

The A300 -- which presumably belongs to American Airlines, although that hasn't been confirmed by authorities, took off from Caracas, Venezuela Thursday, bound for Miami. Instead, it was diverted to Tulsa for maintenance (AAL has a huge maintenance base there in Tulsa).

"During the inspection, a mechanic found ten vacuum-sealed bags containing approximately 15 kilos of cocaine hidden in a floor panel inside the aircraft," Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Spokesman Mark Woodward told KTUL-TV. "One pound of bulk-processed marijuana was also found in the compartment."

The packages containing the drugs were seized by the OBN and are now being processed for fingerprints. So far, no arrests have been made. Woodward says his agency is now working to identify the suspects at the point of origin as well as those at the final destination.

FMI: www.obn.state.ok.us