The Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Friday confirmed that the plane that crash landed in a savannah in Orealla on Thursday was found with 453 kilogrammes (equivalent to 998 pounds) of suspected cocaine aboard.
In a statement, the GPF said the pilot and lone passenger of the four-seater Bonanza Beechcraft, Salem Nobrega De Alencar, 64, and Andre Luiz Pereira, 31, suspected to be Brazilians, were immediately arrested after the discovery was made by law enforcers.
According to the police, the initial search of the aircraft was carried out by divisional ranks, after which the force’s SWAT team, the Guyana Defence Force and the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit were mobilised and dispatched to the scene from Camp Ayanganna aboard the GDF’s BEL-412 helicopter.