Plane Loaded With Cocaine Forced to Make Hard Landing in Dominican Republic - Reports

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - A Cessna light motor plane loaded with cocaine crashed during a forced landing after being chased by the Dominican Air Force fighter jets in the Oviedo municipality in the south of the country, local media reported Thursday.

"According to a preliminary report, after entering the airspace of the Dominican Republic, the plane was pursued by Super Tucano aircraft [light attack aircraft used by the country's Air Force]. The pilot made an emergency landing," the National Drug Control Directorate was quoted as saying by the Caribe news portal.

At the crash site, the authorities found 275 1-kilogram (2.2 pounds) bags of cocaine, the news outlet said. The search for the crew of the plane, which arrived in the country from South America, continues.

More than 90% of the world's coca plantations are located in the countries that form the "silver triangle" of cocaine production in the Andean region — Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Coca also grows in small quantities on plantations in Panama, Ecuador, southwestern Venezuela and northeastern Brazil.