On August 12, ICE agents working in cooperation with the ICE Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC) in Riverside, CA, identified a suspicious private aircraft departing the airport in Brownsville, Texas. The AMOC detection system specialists subsequently identified the plane’s radar track and monitored the aircraft as it flew from Brownsville to Edinburg, Texas.

An ICE Office of Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Citation interceptor jet from the Air and Marine Branch in San Angelo, TX, launched to pursue the suspect plane as it subsequently departed Edinburg.

An ICE King Air aircraft from San Angelo soon joined the chase, as the target plane headed north from Edinburg. Two additional ICE Citation interceptor jets were launched from Houston and New Orleans to maintain constant surveillance of the aircraft throughout the night.

As the suspect aircraft approached the Ottawa, Illinois airport, an ICE Astar helicopter from the Cincinnati Air Unit transported a Special Response Team (SRT) to the airport. At roughly 3:50 AM local time, the ICE Citation from New Orleans and ICE King Air from San Angelo followed the aircraft into the landing site.

The suspect aircraft was immediately met by ICE aircraft and Special Response Team agents upon landing. A subsequent search revealed 1,000 pounds of marijuana. Agents arrested two pilots and seized the aircraft.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for the enforcement of border, economic, infrastructure and transportation security laws. ICE seeks to prevent acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money and materials that support terror and criminal networks.