A pilot operating a small aircraft over a remote region of France dumped dozens of bags suspected of containing drugs after he was intercepted by a French fighter jet over the weekend.
Authorities were alerted to the single-seater tourist plane after it flew near a nuclear plant in restricted airspace in the French region of Ardèche.
This photograph taken on Friday shows a Rafale fighter jet performing an exhibition flight demonstration during the International Paris Air Show at the Paris Airport-Le Bourget north of Paris. (Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)
A Rafale jet, one of France’s most modern fighters, went to check on the aircraft and “witnessed very erratic behavior in the cockpit, real agitation,” a military spokesperson told Agence France-Presse, a French news agency. “Over the course of a few minutes, he saw the door open and packages being thrown out.”
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Approximately 45,000 Euros — roughly equivalent to $49,000 — were found in the cockpit of the small airplane, which was registered to Poland.