Occupants of a private plane bound for Windsor International Airport are facing federal drug possession charges in the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol say the plane was forced to land early in Ohio on Wednesday due to mechanical issues.
Upon inspection, hundreds of pounds of cocaine were found on board.
Sources tell CTV News the pilot from Quebec made a stop in Windsor two weeks earlier to fuel up before heading to the Bahamas. The pilot paid almost $1,000 in cash for gas.
That’s when they say suspicions arose.
Great Lakes Flight Centre operations manager, Greg Lang, says the plane made an unexpected landing on March 16.
"When an aircraft comes in and doesn't tell us that they are coming, it's always a question of where were they going? What were they doing?
"We received a phone call that the aircraft was in-bound back into Canada from CBSA at the airport."
But the plane never made it.
U.S. attorney for the southern district of Ohio, Benjamin Glassman says the seizure wasn't a surprise.
"It's common for drugs to travel from the Caribbean to other countries, whether Mexico, Canada and from there through distribution channels into the States."
The pilot of the plane, 57-year-old Sylvain Desjardins, and his passenger 46-year -old David Ayotte, both Canadian Citizens were arrested.
