Suspected traffickers steal confiscated Honduras drug plane

Tegucigalpa: Suspected drug traffickers broke into a military base at a major airport in northern Honduras and flew off in a small plane confiscated in an anti-drug operation, a military spokesman said Monday.

Several men broke into the base, at the main airport in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, knocked out two soldiers who were on guard and flew off in the aircraft late Sunday, said armed forces spokesman colonel Benjamin Oliva.

The six seater King Air aircraft had fuel in its tank for maintenance and had been seized in a 2008 anti-drug operation on the Central American country's Caribbean coast, Oliva said.

The Honduran Air Force opened an investigation into the theft.

Honduran anti-drug operations have recovered around 50 aircraft in the past two years, amid a wave of drug-related violence across the region.