The trial of four French citizens, including two pilots, accused of trying to smuggle 700 kilos of cocaine from Punta Cana to their home country in a private aircraft in March 2013, has been set for 1 December 2014. Ten Dominicans will also be tried following a hearing on 17 June that confirmed that there was sufficient evidence to proceed against them.
The trial was originally set for yesterday, Monday 22 September 2014, but the lawyers for some of the accused requested a postponement to give them more time to study the charges, some witnesses were absent and there was no interpreter for the French defendants.
French pilots Pascal Jean Fauret, 44 and Bruno Odos, 54, flight attendant Alain Castany, 67 and passenger Nicolas Pisapia, 38, were arrested at dawn on 20 March 2013 at Punta Cana airport as they were preparing to leave for Saint Tropez.
They were released on bail after more than a year in jail, but they are not allowed to leave the country. The drugs were found in 26 suitcases inside a private jet owned by a French businessman, Alain Afflelou.
The pilots have always claimed their innocence, saying that according to international law they are not responsible for the contents of any luggage carried on a commercial flight.
However, the Public Prosecutor says that it was not a commercial flight. Although the plane had been rented for this journey, it was in effect a private flight so the pilots are also responsible.