FITCHBURG -- An Oregon man will be arraigned Wednesday in Fitchburg District Court on charges of marijuana trafficking as state and federal officials intercepted him at the Fitchburg Municipal Airport Tuesday afternoon.
State Police and federal agents stopped the single-engine plane and arrested Hoang Nguyen, 31, of Hillsborough, Ore., after finding three large duffle bags inside the aircraft containing about 74 pounds of marijuana.
Nguyen was booked at the Leominster State Police barracks.
"The investigation began yesterday when US Customs and Border Protection agents and Homeland Security agents began monitoring the movements of the aircraft, occupied solely by one male, later identified as Nguyen, which had departed from Santa Monica, Calif.. Investigators continued to track to the plane as it stopped at Morris County Airport in Grundy, Ill.," State Police spokesman David Procopio wrote in a press release.
Police are not describing why Nguyen's behavior raised suspicion for "tactical reasons and to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation."
State Troopers from the Leominster Barracks, the Worcester County State Police Detective Unit, the State Police K9 Section, and the State Police Troop C Community Action Team, and agents from Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, were waiting for the plane as it landed, Procopio wrote.
"During the subsequent search of the aircraft, troopers and agents found three large duffle bags containing approximately 74 pounds of marijuana, more than $77,000 in United States currency, maps, an iPad, and cellular phones," he wrote. "The approximate bulk worth of the marijuana is $5,000 per pound, or $370,000. Once that amount was broken down and re-sold at the street level, a dealer could expect to make close to double that per-pound amount."
No further information was available Tuesday night.
