DRUG RUNNER'S DIGS GOING ON THE BLOCK

It's the end of the line, so to speak, for a man convicted of landing
his airplane at Santa Paula Airport with 600 pounds of high-grade
cocaine on board.

Federal authorities are putting the sprawling estate of drug runner
Daniel Wesley Allen on the auction block Friday. Cops say it's the
last step before closing the book on Ventura County's largest cocaine
seizure.

The three-acre Santa Barbara spread, which has two wrap-around decks,
a guest house, a newly remodeled kitchen and a three-car garage, is
fruit from a tainted tree.

The house and two planes owned by Allen were seized when authorities
learned they were purchased with drug money, said Britney Bartlett, a
spokeswoman for U.S. Customs Service.

Allen, 52 at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to importing and
possessing cocaine for distribution, said Assistant U.S. Atty.
Samantha Phillips. He was sentenced in October to 17 years in prison.

During their investigation, authorities learned that Allen had been
running cocaine and allegedly marijuana between Mexico and airports in
Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for more than two decades.

The former Santa Barbara resident made headlines in August 1998 after
customs agents spotted him flying into California at a low altitude.
Authorities in two planes and two choppers followed Allen until he set
down in Santa Paula.