The fighter jet was dramatically mobilised after the plane entered restricted airspace in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant, CBS reports.

Minutes after the interception, the jet pilot watched the sole occupant of the plane throw a number of packages out of the cockpit.

The plane subsequently landed and the pilot, a Polish national with a previous conviction for drugs offences, was arrested.

Investigators then recovered the 15 packages thrown to the ground, containing around 30 kilograms of a white powder which is now being identified.

More than €45,000 in cash was also allegedly found in the plane cockpit and the pilot’s bag.