
The Shocking True Story Behind Cocaine Air
When the stash was discovered in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on a plane bound for France, the pilots Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos were taken into custody. Then, in another plot twist straight out of a movie, they escaped to their native France via boat in 2015. The two pilots were convicted in a 2019 trial and sentenced to six years in prison, but they appealed the verdict, and were ultimately acquitted in 2021.
Now the pilots appear in a new Netflix docu-series Cocaine Air, out June 11. The main question in the legal proceedings was whether they were supposed to check the contents of the 26 suitcases. In the series, Fauret and Odos defend themselves, saying that they couldn't possibly have known about the contents of the suitcases, while Christine Saunier Ruellan, who spearheaded the investigation of the case in France, explains what she sees as suspicious activity in the walk-up to the 2013 flight.
Here's how Cocaine Air presents both sides of the case.
Pilots seen as heroes
Both pilots described the shock of being detained in the Dominican Republic. Odos describes the rollercoaster of emotions he was feeling in the moment: 'When you're innocent, you almost turn yourself in. It's like a way to say—okay, please help me.'
In France, both pilots were seen as national heroes because they served in the French army, transporting nuclear weapons before moving into commercial aviation. They garnered a lot of support from people who couldn't imagine that French army veterans would be capable of participating in drug trafficking, and they are seen throughout the series holding up messages of support outside the buildings where legal proceedings took place.
Cocaine Air co-director Jérôme Pierrat explains that the pilots' defense lawyers successfully compared pilots to taxi drivers, arguing, 'Just as taxi drivers do not have to check your suitcase as it goes in the trunk, it's the same for them [the pilots].'
The pilot's lawyers made the case that the contents of suitcases is the responsibility of border control offices and that pilots are not supposed to be asking passengers what is in their suitcases.
As Fauret put it himself in the doc, 'they tell me the date, and I fly. I never know the purpose of the trip.'
The series also features the owner of the plane, eyeglasses magnate Alain Afflelou. Afflelou leased the plane to another agency when he wasn't using it, so he was never linked directly to the infamous flight.
An investigator sees red flags
As the series shows, the investigation by Christine Saunier-Ruellan focused on why three flights were flown with the same pilots and the same passenger. On the March 2013 flight that resulted in the pilots' arrest, the manager and stewardess were told that the client did not need her services—
Through intercepting the pilots' devices, she found what she thought were suspicious messages sent by the pilots, from 'nature of cargo confirmed' and 'we did what we had to do.' Saunier-Ruellan also discovered Internet searches on Fauret's personal computer that were about the drug trafficking situation in Ecuador and the penalties.
She questioned if these were all signs that the pilots knew that cocaine was in the 26 suitcases, but no definitive link could be made between the messages and behaviors and the luggage. 'The appeals court considered these arguments solid enough to overturn the conviction,' says Olivier Bouchara, Cocaine Air co-director.
At one point, she even went so far as to bug former President Nicolas Sarkozy's phone because he had flown that airline in the past. But he had nothing to do with the plane full of cocaine and appears in Cocaine Air to set the record straight on any misconceptions.
'In the case of the two pilots, she didn't have direct proof,' Bouchara says. 'What she had were indications, or circumstantial evidence.'
Yet even after spending months immersing themselves in the details of this case, the filmmakers are also not convinced that they know everything about the pilots' role in the scandal. As Bouchara put it, 'Jerome and I were wondering during all of the shooting, are they responsible? And I have to say that we don't have the final answer.'
Bouchara stresses that he and Pierrat were not jurors, or judges, but journalists: 'Sometimes, we'd be shooting a scene and we'd look at each other and think, 'Wait, maybe they knew. Maybe they were in on it.' Other times, we'd come across a detail that made us doubt everything again. And that's part of what we wanted to share: not a verdict, but a conversation.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Black America Web
an hour ago
- Black America Web
‘Top Boy' Actor Michael Ward Accused Of Rape And Sexual Assault In UK
Source: SAMEER AL-DOUMY / Getty Michael Ward, the British actor known for his role in Netflix 's popular series Top Boy has been charged with rape and sexual assault connected to alleged events that took place in 2023. The 27-year-old Jamaican-born performer is slated to appear before the Thames Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Aug. 28 to answer to the charges, People reports. He is currently facing two counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault levied by an accuser who remains unnamed by UK police. 'Our specialist officers continue to support the woman who has come forward – we know investigations of this nature can have significant impact on those who make reports,' said Detective Superintendent Scott Ware, whose team is leading the investigation for Metropolitan Police. Ward has not been arrested in connection to the crime and will appear before the court under his own free will. The young actor has been making a name for himself over the last few years appearing in projects like The Book of Clarence, The Beautiful Game and The Old Guard. He also received rave reviews for his work in The A List prior to his breakout role as Jamie on the Drake-produced Top Boy . 'I deny the charges against me entirely. I have cooperated fully with the police throughout their investigation and will continue to cooperate,' Ward said in a statement amid the charges. 'I recognise that proceedings are now ongoing, and I have full faith that they will lead to my name being cleared. Given those proceedings, I am unable to comment further.' Though the allegations against Ward are serious, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London South, Catherine Baccas, has asked that the public allow the actor his right to a fair trial before rushing to judgment. 'Having carefully reviewed a file of evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan police to charge Micheal Ward, 27, with two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault against a woman in January 2023,' said Baccas in a statement. 'We remind all concerned that proceedings against the suspect are active and he has a right to a fair trial. It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.' The post 'Top Boy' Actor Michael Ward Accused Of Rape And Sexual Assault In UK appeared first on Bossip. SEE ALSO 'Top Boy' Actor Michael Ward Accused Of Rape And Sexual Assault In UK was originally published on


San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
French authorities investigate if Jewish passengers were removed from flight due to religion
PARIS (AP) — French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens were removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. The airline, Vueling, has denied the claims. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. France's ministry for Europe and foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, contacted the CEO of Vueling, Carolina Martinoli, to express his deep concern 'about the removal of a group of young French Jews from one of the company's flights.' Barrot also requested more information to 'determine whether these individuals had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion.' A similar request has been made to the Spanish ambassador to France. 'Ms. Martinoli assured Mr. Barrot that a thorough internal investigation was underway and that its findings would be shared with the French and Spanish authorities,' the ministry said. Vueling previously denied reports that the incident, which involved the removal of 44 minors and eight adults from flight V8166, was related to the passengers' religion. Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online. Spain's Civil Guard said the minors and adults were French nationals. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group's religious affiliation. A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane's emergency equipment and interrupted the crew's safety demonstration. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the captain of the plane ordered the removal of the minors from the plane at Valencia's Manises Airport after they repeatedly ignored the crew's instructions. On Thursday, the Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain expressed concern about the incident. The group said that Vueling needed to provide documentary evidence of what happened on the plane.

a day ago
French authorities investigate if Jewish passengers were removed from flight due to religion
PARIS -- French authorities are trying to establish whether a group of young French citizens were removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. The airline, Vueling, has denied the claims. Several dozen French passengers on Wednesday were kicked off a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris, for what Spanish police and the airline described as unruly behavior. France's ministry for Europe and foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday that the minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, contacted the CEO of Vueling, Carolina Martinoli, to express his deep concern 'about the removal of a group of young French Jews from one of the company's flights.' Barrot also requested more information to 'determine whether these individuals had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion.' A similar request has been made to the Spanish ambassador to France. 'Ms. Martinoli assured Mr. Barrot that a thorough internal investigation was underway and that its findings would be shared with the French and Spanish authorities,' the ministry said. Vueling previously denied reports that the incident, which involved the removal of 44 minors and eight adults from flight V8166, was related to the passengers' religion. Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students were Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online. Spain's Civil Guard said the minors and adults were French nationals. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group's religious affiliation. A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane's emergency equipment and interrupted the crew's safety demonstration. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the captain of the plane ordered the removal of the minors from the plane at Valencia's Manises Airport after they repeatedly ignored the crew's instructions. On Thursday, the Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain expressed concern about the incident. The group said that Vueling needed to provide documentary evidence of what happened on the plane.