23-Pound Package of Marijuana Falls From Plane Through Family’s Roof, Crushes Doghouse
Drug smuggling usually doesn't hit this close to home in Nogales, Ariz.
— -- Maya and Bill Donnelly woke up to a loud, crashing sound at their Arizona home in the border town of Nogales, thinking the boom was thunder from a lingering rainstorm before going back to sleep, authorities said.
So imagine the shock later that morning of Sept. 8 when they discovered a large plastic package in the destroyed remains of their German shepherd’s doghouse; a 23-pound parcel that police say contained about $10,000 worth of marijuana.
The illegal drugs had likely fallen from a smuggler’s aircraft that had taken off from Mexico, officials said.
“The package likely fell out of the sky,” Nogales Police Department spokesman Det. Robert Fierros told ABC News. “We have seen ultralight [plane] activity in our town before, but never seen a package that is assumed to be from an ultralight fall so close to the border.”
Fierros explained that such drug drops usually occur in the desert and on the outskirts of Nogales and neighboring town of Rio Rico.
The family has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
The 23-pound package busted a hole through the plywood roof of the family's home carport, which is about 1,000 feet from the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said.
Fierros said he was relieved no one was harmed.
“Thankfully, nobody was hurt,” he said. “Had this bundle actually fallen on someone or a pet there would have been some injuries. In this case, we were fortunate enough not to have to deal with that.”
