Reporter Sharon Montague can be reached at 822-1411 or by e-mail at smontague@salina.com.
Saline County sheriff’s deputies, acting on an anonymous tip, found more than 200 pounds of marijuana on a private plane that flew into Salina Tuesday morning.
Two California men were arrested and are expected to face federal charges, Undersheriff Dave Dunstan said.
Dunstan said officers received a tip about 11 a.m. from someone who said a single-engine plane was en route to Salina and that it contained illegal narcotics.
Armed with a description of the private plane, deputies went to Flower Aviation at Salina Municipal Airport. A plane matching the description landed about 11:30 a.m. An officer walked around the outside of the plane with a drug-sniffing dog, Dunstan said, and the dog indicated the presence of drugs.
On the plane, officers found a little more than 200 pounds of marijuana. The marijuana, which was wrapped, was contained in three hard-sided suitcases, a large bag and two smaller, duffel type bags, Dunstan said.
The street value of the drugs was estimated at $630,000.
Dunstan said the plane had stopped in Salina for refueling only. Officials are investigating where it had come from and where it was headed after leaving Salina.
Arrested were the pilot, Aaron Hartwell, 42, of Spring Valley, Calif., and his passenger, Joe Martino, 33, El Cajon, Calif. The two were in the Saline County Jail.
Dunstan said the plane and the marijuana were seized by federal authorities.
n Reporter Sharon Montague can be reached at 822-1411 or by e-mail at smontague@salina.com.
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