The small aircraft that crashed last week in the municipality of San Rafael de Yuna, in the province of La Altagracia, was a homemade project. Authorities say this is apparently a new step in the efforts of drug traffickers to move their cargoes in what are literally “throw-away” aircraft.
Informants within the government told reporters that “usually the traffickers change the tail numbers of the aircraft, or simply file for their retirement, but the use of “home-built” airplanes for drug trafficking marks a first for the DR. This particular aircraft, which carried sophisticated navigation equipment, tested positive for cocaine. With only two seats and a large cargo bay, the aircraft was heard by residents, but its landing went undetected in a heavy bush area later that evening. According to the IDAC, the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute, there were no reports by any control towers nor from the Air Traffic Control Center regarding this aircraft.
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Diario Libre
28 January 2019
