The movie is called “”Air Cocaine” and revolves around a real cocaine bust in Punta Cana back in 2013. Two French pilots in a private jet carrying 26 suitcases raised suspicions with Customs agents at the Punta Cana airport.
The question was simple: Who needs 26 suitcases for a 48-hour stay at Punta Cana? And so began one of the strangest and now cinematic drug cases on file.
The boarded suitcases held 700kg of cocaine, bound for Saint Tropez on board the luxury jet piloted by two veteran French pilots: Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos.
In the Netflix documental called “Air Cocaine” the series details the events with solid research, black humor, and the film clearly establishes that some doubts were left unresolved.
In June of 2013, when the case broke in the local news, it seemed unreal. Four persons, two pilots arrested on the tarmac before takeoff, and a huge amount of cocaine discovered. It seemed to be too much of a perfect novel.
And, as the news went international, apparently in France, a rescue plan was beginning to be created. In 2015, after arraignment and preliminary court appearances, the two pilots were placed under house-arrest. But, in an event that certainly merited even more drama, the pilots escaped the Dominican Republic on a fishing boat.
Orchestrated by French professionals, the escape, which included fake porno movies, transfers to Hotels in Santo Domingo and several different flights, took the pilots back to Paris. Once there, French authorities absolved them of any wrongdoing, alleging that Dominican authorities had not proven any direct participation in the drug smuggling operation. The Dominican judicial process was left open with no convictions.
The series raises serious questions regarding the handling of the case, the efficiency of the Dominican judicial system, and the possibility of a much larger involvement of high-ranking government officials. Then Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito questioned how it was possible for two persons, sentenced by the court to 20-year sentences on the drug charges, who were allowed to be under house arrest. Many other questions are left unanswered.
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Diario Libre
16 June 2025