The true story behind 'COCAINE BEAR'

THIS WILD TALE IS ALMOST TOO BIZARRE TO BELIEVE

- April Rose

One drug smuggler who died trying to move 130kg of pure cocaine could never have guessed who would eventually get their hands or make that paws! - on his stash.

Nearly 40 years ago, police officer-turned-drug dealer Andrew Carter Thornton II died after unsuccessfully attempting to parachute out of a plane near Knoxville, Tennessee. Police found his body on a random driveway on September 11, 1985.

Thornton was wearing a bulletproof vest, carrying thousands of dollars in cash and had a duffel bag strapped around his waist.

Inside the bag was 34kg of cocaine with a street value of around $20 million. Police surmised Thornton died after jumping from an aircraft, which was being tracked by authorities. He had set it to autopilot while travelling towards the Atlantic Ocean.

The discovery of his body seemed baffling enough, but the story would become even stranger.

Two months later, police learned Thornton wasn't the only casualty of his ill-fated drug smuggling expedition.