ICE: Indian pilots smuggled drugs in exchange for party

August 28, 2009 10:19 PM
Jeremy Roebuck


McALLEN — Two student pilots from India agreed to smuggle drugs on a training flight from McAllen to the Houston area in exchange for a $300 to $400 party, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.

Federal agents arrested Snigdh Anurag, 28, and Moby George Thommenkudy, 31, on Wednesday after discovering two bundles of marijuana weighing about 46 pounds hidden in luggage on their Cessna 172 aircraft.

The men — both Indian citizens — had flown from the Houston area to the Rio Grande Valley and were preparing to take off from McAllen-Miller International Airport when authorities made their discovery.

The duo told ICE investigators that their neighbor in Houston — who they knew only as “Luis Carlosâ€