NM State Police Find Pot Strapped To Ultralight Aircraft

New Mexico State Police officers who were conducting a desert operation discovered an abandoned Ultralight aircraft with 134 pounds of marijuana strapped to it, officials said.

The aircraft — which resembles a bicycle attached to a large kite — was discovered in the Playas Valley, which is halfway between the U.S.-Mexico border and NM Road 9, about 175 miles west of El Paso. Three large bundles of the drug were attached to the bottom of the aircraft, officials said.

The pilot, who has not been found, had apparently been trying to fly over from Mexico when the aircraft ran out of fuel, officials said. Recent rainfall in the area, they said, made it impossible to the track pilot’s footprints. No arrests have yet been made.

Authorities said the street value of the marijuana seized is an estimated $54,000.