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Guard C-130 delivers drugs to set up sting

A C-130 crew from the West Virginia Air National Guard had a once-in-a-lifetime assignment April 14: Fly a half-ton of marijuana across state lines. All in the name of law enforcement, of course.

According to an Ohio National Guard press release, the mission started when Maj. Mitchell Gargac of the Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force got a call from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. The BCI’s counterpart in North Carolina had intercepted a shipment of 1,000 pounds of marijuana, originating in Texas and en route to Jackson County, Ohio. The law enforcement officials hoped to continue the drug shipment — with sheriffs posing as the dealers — in order to nab the people on the receiving end.

The only way to complete the shipment in time, though, was by air. Gargac contacted the National Guard Bureau's Joint Emergency Operations Center, which approved the mission in about 15 minutes, he said in the press release.

A C-130 crew from the West Virginia Air Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing volunteered for the mission, and flew first to Columbus, Ohio, to pick up the law enforcement officials who would complete the transfer. The Herc flew from there to Greensboro, N.C., to pick up the drugs, which the North Carolina National Guard transported to the airfield and loaded onto the plane.

From there, the flight continued to Rickenbacker International Airport in Ohio, where the delivery was unloaded and the operation planned.

The next day, Jackson County officers made the delivery, supported by agents from the Columbus Police Department South Central, BCI, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs.

The pallet of marijuana was delivered by pickup truck just as it had been intercepted — hidden from view within an inflatable children’s bouncy castle.

Waiting for the package were Roger Baisden, 44, and Ronnie Baisden, 49, the target home's residents, as well as Mark Morelock, 51. All were arrested.

A second truck pulled up soon after with another bouncy castle in back. That one wasn’t meant for children, either.

Two suspects — Leonel A. Pena, 35, and Armando Gonzalez, 47 — were later arrested on suspicion of organizing the Texas end of the drug relay.

All suspects are awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and aggravated drug trafficking. The operation ultimately netted an estimated $4.4 million in marijuana.