A plane believed to have been transporting large quantities of ganja crashed in mangroves near the Rocky Point port in Clarendon yesterday, police said.

The plane crashed about 5 a.m. between Salt River and Mitchell Town, some 500 metres from its intended destination at the port. No one was found near the wreckage.

The Lionel Town police received a call about 7 a.m. that an explosion was heard and smoke was seen coming from mangroves near the port. As the police approached the area, men were seen running but attempts to catch them were futile.

Police say the plane was razed; however, four packages of compressed ganja, which were partially burnt, were found near the wreckage. During a further search of the mangroves, 16 more packages were found, each having an estimated weight of 2.5kg.

Police believe most of the ganja, saved before it went into flames, might be hidden in the Salt River area. Several homes in the community were searched but nothing was found.

Senior policemen on the scene theorised that the pilot attempted to land the plane on a private thoroughfare, which Jamalco uses, but got into difficulties and crashed into the mangroves.

Residents told THE STAR the roadway is used as a landing area for ganja planes and the drugs loaded on to boats at the port. "This is nothing new to us as it is not the first time ganja plane lands here, and this is how a lot of drugs leave the Island," one resident said.