According to the French media, the two French pilots who were convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Dominican court, have fled the country and are now back in France.
Pascal Jean Fauret and Bruno Odos were arrested along with two other Frenchmen at Punta Cana Airport in March 2013 when they were due to fly a private Falcon jet to San Tropez in the south of France. The Dominican authorities discovered 700 kilograms of cocaine in the plane, valued at 30 million euros.
Although the pilots said they were unaware of the contents of the 26 suitcases on board, they were sentenced to 20 years each in jail by a National District court. Their lawyers were appealing the sentence, which is why they were not yet actually in jail but they were subject to an exit ban.
According to Le Figaro, both pilots have been back in France since Saturday, 24 October 2015, and French television has confirmed they are at home in the city of Lyon and their lawyers will be holding a press conference today, Tuesday 27 October 2015.
According to reports, Pascal Jean Fauret and Bruno Odos used to be pilots in the French Navy and a group of their former military colleagues came to the Dominican Republic to get them out of the country, where they were under house arrest. They were reportedly taken on to a boat from the Dominican Republic to an unnamed French island, although it was not stated whether it was Guadeloupe or Martinique. From there they flew to Paris.
Fauret and Odos are now expecting to be arrested by the French authorities and their lawyers are saying that they expect a new trial will be held in France where they hope they will be treated more fairly.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/10/26/393723/huyen-de-republica-dominicana-dos-pilotos-franceses-condenados-por-trafico-de-cocaina
Huyen de República Dominicana dos pilotos franceses condenados por tráfico de cocaína