Nearly 200 pounds of marijuana, an airplane, and a Ford F150 were seized Monday night in a major, multi-jurisdiction drug bust.
- Nearly 200lbs of pot, plane, truck seized in major drug bust
- Plane was carrying marijuana to Central Florida from California
- Pilot and passenger of plane arrested
The Lake and Hernando County Sheriff's Offices intercepted and confiscated a large amount of marijuana that was being flown into the Central Florida area from California, after the Lake County Sheriff's Office received information on the drug transportation.
“We got a call from Homeland Security Investigations Department and they advised us that a small aircraft may be entering Hernando County that was acting very suspiciously,” said Hernando Sheriff Al Nienhuis.
Officials said the plane landed at the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport in Hernando County where deputies met with the two men on board.
“They were slightly less than cooperative," said Nienhuis. "They wouldn’t allow us into the hangar.”
The Lake County Sheriff's Office was able to obtain a search warrant on the plane where deputies found 197 pounds of marijuana on board, packaged in duffel bags.
"This is a great example of inter-agency cooperation and we couldn't be more proud of all the hard work that went into this operation,” said Lake Sheriff Peyton Grinnell.
Officials identified the pilot of the plane as Joshua Overton, 32, of St. Petersburg, Florida. The other person on board was identified as Aaron Andrus, 38, of Chico, California.
The Hernando County Sheriff's Office has active arrest warrants for the two men.
"It's only a matter of time," said Nienhuis. "We'll get them."