Chartered jet retained at PUJ after suspected shipment found on board

Dolores

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Mitsubishi CRJ-100ER detained at Punta Cana International Airport / El Dia

At a time when the Presidency is backing an increase in small plane tourism, the National Drug Control Agency announced the seizing of 200 packages, presumably cocaine, in a search by narcotics agents of a chartered jet (C-FWRR) that would have traveled from Punta Cana International Airport to Toronto, Canada.

The crew, passengers and the aircraft, a Mitsubishi CRJ-100ER, are under the control of the Public Ministry while the investigations continue to determine if there are others involved. As reported, nine Canadians, an Indian and a Dominican are under arrest for their possible involvement in the frustrated shipment.

El Dia reports that the small jet had made at least 14 flights to different airports in the Dominican Republic (Las Americas, Punta Cana and La Romana) between January and April 2022...

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Ecoman1949

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Note the company name. Pivot Airlines. Guess they didn’t expect this pivotal event. Big bucks on the line here. That’s a Canadair CRJ-100 commuter aircraft worth millions. Air Canada uses a lot of these for short hop flights between small airports. They are quiet and meet noise regulations for communities nearby. It may be good quality very potent hybrid weed grown legally in one or some of Canada’s legal grow ops. Either way some DR officials are going to enjoy the use of a nice aircraft.
 

zoomzx11

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Note the company name. Pivot Airlines. Guess they didn’t expect this pivotal event. Big bucks on the line here. That’s a Canadair CRJ-100 commuter aircraft worth millions. Air Canada uses a lot of these for short hop flights between small airports. They are quiet and meet noise regulations for communities nearby. It may be good quality very potent hybrid weed grown legally in one or some of Canada’s legal grow ops. Either way some DR officials are going to enjoy the use of a nice aircraft.
If the plane is chartered the prosecutors will have to prove that the company officials knew of its illegal use.
Narcos are well aware of the risk of confiscation.
Nice plane.
And so goes the worlds longest war with no end in sight.
One wonders what the cops will do to fill their time if the war is ever declared lost?
 

Ecoman1949

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If the plane is chartered the prosecutors will have to prove that the company officials knew of its illegal use.
Narcos are well aware of the risk of confiscation.
Nice plane.
And so goes the worlds longest war with no end in sight.
One wonders what the cops will do to fill their time if the war is ever declared lost?
That’s part of the reason we legalized marijuana grow ops and sales in Canada. Policing resources are best directed towards other initiatives. Despite that there is still a black market. Some long time customers prefer to stick with their old suppliers. More money is being spent on legal drug injection sites and easier access to drug cessation programs. All this helps but will never eliminate the illegal trafficking.

That was a large shipment . No pilot would let that on board without knowing. That’s a lot of weight. One or two packages, maybe, in personal luggage.
 
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cavok

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They never learn. These guys will be in preventative custody for a long time. Remember the French pilots?
 

jd426

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That’s part of the reason we legalized marijuana grow ops and sales in Canada. Policing resources are best directed towards other initiatives. Despite that there is still a black market. Some long time customers prefer to stick with their old suppliers. More money is being spent on legal drug injection sites and easier access to drug cessation programs. All this helps but will never eliminate the illegal trafficking.

That was a large shipment . No pilot would let that on board without knowing. That’s a lot of weight. One or two packages, maybe, in personal luggage.

Was going to say .. these planes are pretty sophisticated , with respect to weight on board , so the Pilot HAD to know something was up , UNLESS all those packages were disgused inside many Luggage bags ? they dont seem to give the actual weight though .,just 200 packages . But that looks like about 1,000 Lbs easy ..
 

cavok

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It's pretty hard to get past the dogs. They had inside help. I think there'll be more arrests. Where's SKY when we need him?
 

Ecoman1949

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The packages appear to be about 10KG size (22 lbs) I’m guessing closer to 2000 lbs in total weight. something that has to be factored into the total takeoff weight and properly stowed on the aircraft.

Canadair sold the licensing and manufacture rights for the CRJ 100 to Mitsubishi in 2020. Canadair still had a lot of orders to complete before Mitsubishi started manufacturing them. Canadair sadly stopped manufacturing Learjets under license. They were the Ferraris’ of the private jets. I had a short ride on a Learjet 90. Canadair recently sold the licensing and manufacturing rights for the larger C series to Airbus industries. It competed directly with their 319 series. Another company now manufactures the Canadair Q-400 turboprop series. The Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry is dying the Chinese death of a thousand cuts.
 
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zoomzx11

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That’s part of the reason we legalized marijuana grow ops and sales in Canada. Policing resources are best directed towards other initiatives. Despite that there is still a black market. Some long time customers prefer to stick with their old suppliers. More money is being spent on legal drug injection sites and easier access to drug cessation programs. All this helps but will never eliminate the illegal trafficking.

That was a large shipment . No pilot would let that on board without knowing. That’s a lot of weight. One or two packages, maybe, in personal luggage.


I am a supporter of legalization, however, many of the states in the US that legalized placed very low thc limits on their products.
Be nicer to have a twofer and get a double benefit with thc levels equal to what is available everywhere..

Other issue is the sky high prices the state stores charge.
If the state is going into the reefer biz they need to be competitive since there is lots of competition.
 

cavok

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Was going to say .. these planes are pretty sophisticated , with respect to weight on board , so the Pilot HAD to know something was up , UNLESS all those packages were disgused inside many Luggage bags ? they dont seem to give the actual weight though .,just 200 packages . But that looks like about 1,000 Lbs easy ..
I'd be willing to bet they were inside luggage bags or some other boxes. The CRJ-100 is a 50 seat aircraft. The weight really doesn't matter much, but where it goes is.