Daring!Mexican drug smugglers make illegal landing, burn private jet after military plane pursued them (Photos)

The jet, which is suspected of carrying hundreds of kilos of drugs was discovered in flames on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Video posted by the top Quintana Roo state police official showed smoke billowing from the jet as it sat on a rural two-lane highway.

The Defense Department said the plane had arrived from South America and had been tracked since it entered Mexican airspace.

According to the department, two air force planes were dispatched to trail the jet and troops were flown to the landing site.

Local press reported that because the aircraft had been detected by the Armed Forces in mid-flight, the crew would have landed and burned the plane in order to escape.

However, local authorities have not confirmed that report. It is unclear whether the plane made the emergency landing and then burst into flames or whether the traffickers purposely set it on fire.

Further down the highway, headed toward the neighboring state of Yucatan, troops found a pickup truck loaded with 13 sacks of cocaine weighing a total of about 850 pounds.

With an estimated value of more than $4.9million, the loss would have a ‘significant’ impact on criminal organizations, said a statement from the Mexican military.