In a developing investigation into international drug trafficking activity in northern Belize, authorities have uncovered a stockpile of suspected contraband aviation fuel that points to a far larger, ongoing smuggling operation than initially thought. Belize Police Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado publicly confirmed Wednesday that law enforcement teams discovered 15 containers holding what is believed to be illicit aviation fuel during a patrol of the Neuland community in Corozal District on Tuesday. Alongside the fuel cache, investigators also found an unauthorized lighting system set up in the remote area, which they say was intentionally installed to facilitate unregulated nighttime aircraft landings in the region. The discovery comes just weeks after a landmark joint anti-drug operation between Belizean law enforcement and global partner agencies intercepted a drug-carrying narco-plane in the same general area. That operation seized more than 1,000 pounds of high-purity cocaine, with an estimated street value of approximately $11 million, and led to the immediate arrest of the aircraft’s two crew members: Mexican nationals Edgar Aguilar and Paul Valenzuela, identified as the plane’s pilot and co-pilot respectively. The pair remain in custody awaiting trial on charges of drug importation and violations of Belizean immigration law, with court proceedings ongoing. Investigators say the latest find of pre-staged fuel and landing lighting confirms their early hypothesis that the intercepted narco-flight was not an isolated incident. Instead, the cached supplies indicate that trafficking groups had planned multiple drug shipments via air into Belize, with the fuel and infrastructure prepared to support repeated landing operations. Full updates on the expanding investigation will be broadcast during tonight’s primetime broadcast of News 5 Live.