Rotorcraft Update: Sticks and stones

 A U.S. Customs MD 600N helicopter was damaged last month during the seizure of a half-ton of marijuana when a group threw rocks at the aircraft. The incident took place at the climax of a raid on a group of 13 men as they tried to smuggle the contraband using a raft to cross the Rio Grande River near McAllen, Texas. One of the 13 men was arrested and the rest fled across the river to Mexico, where, protected by the international border (which U.S. Customs cannot cross), they pelted the rotorcraft with rocks. No one was hurt in the incident and U.S. Customs reported a few dents in the helicopter.