Garden Grove Pilot Says He's Not Guilty in Marijuana Loaded Plane Trip to Massachusetts

By R. Scott Moxley Wed., Apr. 11 2012 at 7:10 AM

Categories: Cannabis Chronicles, Court, Crime-iny, Moxley

Welcome aboard! I'll be your captain.

A 31-year-old Garden Grove man arrested last year by federal and state police in Massachusetts for allegedly piloting a plane loaded with 74 pounds of marijuana pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, according to news reports.

Using police drug sniffing dogs, officials claim they found three duffel bags loaded with pot as well as $77,000 in cash when they searched Hoang Nguyen's plane in September 2011.

Nguyen, who has lived in Oregon, is free from custody on bail.

Authorities valued the 74 pounds of marijuana at $370,000.

Federal agents tracked Nguyen's single-engine, 2003 plane as it departed Santa Monica, CA on its cross country trip to Illinois and then Massachusetts.

Nguyen's plane

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane is registered to a Maricopa County, Arizona company, Olson Aviation LLC.

Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!