Four Frenchmen jailed 20 years in Dominican Republic in 'Air Cocaine' case
A Dominican court sentenced four French nationals to 20 years for drug trafficking in the high-profile "Air Cocaine" affair. The men were arrested in 2013 at Punta Cana with 680kg of cocaine.
Dominican court hands 20-year sentences in 'Air Cocaine' trial
A Dominican Republic court sentenced four French nationals to 20 years in prison on Friday for drug trafficking, france24.com reports, concluding a long-delayed trial known in France as the "Air Cocaine" affair.
Pilot Pascal Fauret, co-pilot Bruno Odos, passenger Nicolas Pisapia and alleged broker Alain Castany were detained in March 2013 at the Caribbean resort of Punta Cana, moments before their Dassault Falcon 50 jet was due to take off. Dominican authorities found 26 suitcases aboard the aircraft containing 680 kilograms of cocaine.
After ten hours of deliberations, the court found all four guilty of "associating to possess illegal drugs." Of the ten Dominican nationals charged with complicity, six were acquitted and four received sentences ranging from five to ten years.
The defence attorney for the French pilots, Maria Elena Gratereaux, said she would appeal the verdict. The four men have consistently maintained their innocence, arguing they were unaware that drugs had been loaded onto the plane.
Prosecutor Milciades Guzman rejected that claim, stating on Friday that the cocaine had been transported "to the plane via a hole in the security fence, in the pilots' presence."
French investigators are separately examining events linked to an earlier flight. A Falcon 50 carrying Fauret, Odos and Pisapia landed in December 2012 at the Mediterranean resort of Saint-Tropez, where a French customs official is under investigation for allegedly assisting two vehicles in unloading ten suitcases from the aircraft. Investigators say two similar deliveries occurred earlier in 2012, with a third planned for March 2013 — when the men were arrested in Punta Cana.
Source: Google News DM — Crime