Seized planes show busy Venezuela-Dominican Republic drug route

Santo Domingo.- The Cessna plane found Saturday morning ina Venezuelan lake isn’t registered in Dominican Republic as first reported, asCaracas authorities suspect that it’s forged. "The registry on thetwin-engine belongs to the Dominican Republic, but it results that it’s alsonot registered in that country," said Public Security official BiagioParisi.

The twin engine craft is the second plane of that typelinked to Dominican Republic-Venezuela drug trafficking in as many weeks, withthe 359 kilos of cocaine seized from a Cessna C404 that had landed in La RomanaInternational Airport.

The official on Saturday announced that the plane would bepulled from the water and more information would be provided after confirmingits serial number. The plane was found in Maracaibo Lake near Zulia State.

"This is a plane that surely came loaded, it made itsdelivery right there in the lake and then they tried to sink it, but failedbecause the water was very shallow, so we were able to find its location," Parisisaid, quoted by Noticias del Dia.

The plane found in Venezuela had reportedly taken off from ElHigüero airport on Friday.

Thus far this year the authorities have seized 1,330 kilosof drugs on planes and boats which had left from Venezuela.