Seaplane pilot arrested for leading drug trafficking network between Buenos Aires and Rosario
A 29-year-old acrobatic pilot was arrested following 14 simultaneous raids. The gang used a US$70,000 amphibious aircraft and a fake patrol vehicle to move drugs.
Police operation dismantles drug network operating with seaplane between Buenos Aires and Santa Fe
According to a24.com, a 29-year-old civilian and acrobatic pilot was arrested on suspicion of heading an organisation dedicated to drug trafficking that operated between San Nicolás, province of Buenos Aires, and Rosario, Santa Fe. The main defendant was identified as Maximiliano Nicolás Cafiero, who presented himself as an aviator on his social media accounts and posted phrases such as "all good things start with a little fear" and "make money and don't look to the side".
The arrest was made as part of a Buenos Aires Provincial Police operation that deployed 14 simultaneous raids: 13 at various locations in the province of Buenos Aires and one in Rosario. The procedure resulted in the detention of six people in total and the dismantling of part of the gang's logistical structure.
The seaplane and the fake patrol vehicle
Investigators contend that Cafiero purchased an experimental amphibious Lasermaster seaplane for 70,000 dollars, which he allegedly used to transport drug shipments between Buenos Aires and Santa Fe. The aircraft was kept in a private hangar located at a rural airfield in Alvear, on the outskirts of Rosario, which allegedly functioned as one of the organisation's operational bases.
To reduce risks during land transport, the gang allegedly converted a Mercedes Benz C250 into a fake patrol vehicle, equipped with police beacons and a siren system installed on the front grille. According to the case file, the vehicle was used to travel between Santa Fe and Buenos Aires in order to evade road checkpoints.
Seizures and detainees
During the operations, investigators seized cocaine, marijuana, firearms, more than four million pesos in cash and several vehicles. All the seized weapons had their serial numbers removed, according to investigation sources.
In addition to Cafiero, five other people were detained as suspected members of the organisation. A minor of 17 years old, identified as N. C. A., was notified of simple possession of narcotics and released. G. A. O. C., 60 years old and father of the main defendant, was also notified and released; the courts are investigating him as the alleged financial administrator of the network and was additionally charged with illegal possession of a firearm found in a property known as "La Casa Barco".
Investigation and judicial context
The case was conducted by the San Nicolás Division of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police Illegal Drug Trafficking Investigation Superintendency, under the intervention of the Narcotics Unit No. 1, headed by prosecutor María Verónica Marcantonio.
Financial intelligence work and surveillance carried out during the investigation made it possible to identify how the structure operated, locate the hangar where the aircraft was hidden and coordinate the raids. As the case proceeds, the courts are maintaining international arrest warrants and active detention orders against two other suspected members of the network, identified as direct distributors within the logistical structure.
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires