'Air Cocaine' drug-trafficking trial starts in France
Source: BBC
'Air Cocaine' drug-trafficking trial starts in France
18 February 2019
Two former air force pilots have gone on trial in France almost six years after 26 suitcases stashed with cocaine were found on board their plane in the Dominican Republic.
The two Frenchmen, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, were arrested and sentenced in the Caribbean nation but fled to the French Antilles while on bail.
They were re-arrested after they reached the French mainland.
Seven other defendants are also facing charges over the same case.
They could face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty.
The case, which was quickly dubbed "Air Cocaine", first hit the headlines in March 2013 when Dominican police opened the suitcases on board a Falcon jet in the resort town of Punta Cana to find them stuffed with 680kg (1,500lb) of cocaine.
-snip-
Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47283966
Pascal Fauret (right) and Bruno Odos appeared in court on Monday
The cocaine was found in neat packages inside suitcases on board the plane