After being intercepted over the weekend by a French fighter plane, a pilot flying a small aircraft in a remote part of France dumped several bags that were suspected to contain drugs.
The authorities were alerted after the tourist single-seater plane flew close to a nuclear power plant in restricted airspace, in the French region Ardeche.
A Rafale fighter jet, France’s newest aircraft, was sent to inspect the aircraft. “We witnessed very erratic behavior in the cockpit and real agitation,” a spokesperson for the French news agency Agence France-Presse said. He saw the door being opened and packages being thrown.
The pilot was detained after landing at an airstrip near Lanas in Ardeche. According to the local prosecutor, the pilot is a Polish citizen with a record of drug crimes.
Investigators discovered 15 packages scattered on the ground, containing 70 pounds of “white powder”, which is currently being analyzed.
Approximately 45,000 Euros — roughly equivalent to $49,000 — were found in the cockpit of the small airplane, which was registered to Poland.
