Cocaine found on American Airlines plane in Tulsa

Crime-scene investigators from the US Customs Service were at the American Airlines Maintenance center Tuesday. <br><br>News on Six reporter Steve Berg says workers were doing routine maintenance on an

Tuesday, February 4th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Crime-scene investigators from the US Customs Service were at the American Airlines Maintenance center Tuesday.

News on Six reporter Steve Berg says workers were doing routine maintenance on an American Airlines jet, when they made a most unusual discovery in the cargo hold. Officials say they found 10 kilos of cocaine, that's 24 pounds.

A US Customs Service spokesperson says the drugs were stashed behind some insulation in the cargo area. At this point, they have no idea how it got there or how long it had been there. The plane is an Airbus A-300. They say the plane arrived at the Tulsa maintenance base from JFK Airport in New York City. Before that, it was at Montego Bay, Jamaica. An American Airlines spokesperson also says the plane routinely flies to Central and South America.

He says access to the cargo hold is greatly restricted. Logically, that would narrow the list of suspects. But they haven't found any yet.

US Customs officials say the plane has been processed and is no longer a crime scene. It will continue with its regular maintenance. They say they've found drugs on planes like this before, but usually not this much.