Yet the story of the drug-running Hawker doesn't end there. In an odd twist, the aircraft actually wears the same bogus registration of a similar aircraft that was seized for an identical activity in Belize two years ago . That registration is N818LD, which is actually legitimate , but belongs to an HS 125-700A owned by Central Virginia Aviation LLC and is current with the FAA. In fact, the jet that landed on a road in Belize even had a similar, but not identical paint job to the real McCoy .

The aircraft safely made it to a Guatemalan Air Force installation where its condition is being evaluated while it is still being used as evidence as part of the investigation.

An HS 125 that was used for drug running found in Belize in the Spring of 2018. It also wore the bogus tail number N818LD

The strangeness doesn't end there. The spoofed registration has been used more than in just these two incidents, with it appearing on another HS 125 drug-running plane that landed in Venezuela just a month before the Hawker was seized in Belize.

An HS 125 variant found with the same bogus registration N818LD in Venezuela in March of 2018. According to eltubazodigital.com, the aircraft's real registration was XB-PDD.

So, it seems that using the N818LD has become something of a tradition in the drug-running community when an HS 125 derivative is available, or at least for one smuggling group or cartel. The use of the type is highly logical, not just for its aforementioned short-field performance and tough airframe, but also for its range, payload, speed, and the fact that there are plenty of them that are aging out of normal operations.

The drug runners traditionally use careful route planning and fly as low as possible at night to remain undetected by radar and various law-enforcement and counter-narcotic-tasked military units in the region. It is an incredibly dangerous business as it can mean being thrown in a horrific prison for a very long period of time, crashing and burning on an austere road-turned landing strip, or being shot down by patrolling fighter aircraft.

This was the third aircraft found in Guatemala this year associated with drug-running operations. Last year there were 54 in total. The region overall has seen an uptick of these types of smuggling operations, which isn't surprising as it seems that the cartels are becoming more aggressive with their international higher-tech (relatively) smuggling operations as of late.

As for the real N818LD, it isn't clear if it is still flying in the states, but maybe it would be a good time for its owners to switch its registration regardless.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com