OCEANSIDE — Two Oceanside men were arrested Thursday on suspicion of cocaine smuggling after making a predawn emergency landing in a light airplane on state Route 76 in Oceanside.
The pilot of the Piper PA-28 Cherokee safely landed the single-engine aircraft on the eastbound side of the highway near Canyon Drive at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sept. 26 after reporting engine trouble, according to the Oceanside Police Department.
“From what I understand, there was no traffic, and there were no close calls (with vehicles),” OPD Assistant Chief Taurino Valdovinos told reporters.
When officers arrived, they found the men who had been traveling in the plane — later identified as Gabriel Leon Breit, 21, and 36-year-old Troy Othneil Smith — in the area, uninjured.
As officers took stock of the situation, one of them saw Smith allegedly drop a backpack he was carrying into a patch of brush, “which obviously raised concerns,” Valdovinos said. Police then detained and searched the pair, allegedly finding a small quantity of cocaine on one of them.
At that point, officers retrieved the discarded backpack, discovering about a kilogram of the drug inside it, according to police.
Breit and Smith were then arrested and booked into county jail in Vista on suspicion of illegally transporting a controlled substance and participating in a criminal conspiracy.
Valdovinos told news crews during an afternoon briefing that investigators believe the suspects had flown in the rented airplane, with Breit at the controls, from Phoenix.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 8:58 a.m. on Sept. 27. Original story below
Plane lands on SR-76, occupants suspected of transporting narcotics
OCEANSIDE — Two Oceanside residents were arrested early Thursday after a small plane made an emergency landing on a North County highway and was found to be carrying a large quantity of narcotics, law enforcement officials said.
The single-engine PA-28 aircraft, which had reported mechanical issues, touched down on state Route 76 near Canyon Drive at approximately 1:45 a.m., according to the Oceanside Police Department and Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot had radioed about engine failure, prompting the unscheduled landing on the freeway.
Both individuals on board escaped the incident without injury. However, when officers arrived on the scene and searched the aircraft, they discovered a significant amount of illegal drugs, authorities said.
The two occupants, whose identities have not been released but are confirmed to be residents of Oceanside, were taken into custody on suspicion of narcotics trafficking.
The FAA is continuing to investigate the cause of the emergency landing, but details surrounding the origin of the drugs or the flight’s intended destination remain unclear.
Authorities have not disclosed the exact type or quantity of narcotics found on the plane.
