Cocaine Smuggling Pilots Escape Dominican Republic to France

Two pilots who had faced decades-long sentences for carrying loads of cocaine to the Dominican Republic have mounted a daring escape from the island nation.

The pilots were arrested in 2013 when customs officials discovered 680 kilograms of cocaine in 26 suitcases that had been loaded into the belly of the plane they were flying, Vice News reported. The men were in the midst of their trial for 20-year sentences when they escaped.

The exact manner of their escape is unclear, with various French media outlets saying that it was either by boat or helicopter. What the media outlets seem to agree on is that the pilots were aided by either current or former members of the French military and intelligence organizations and a leading member of the National Front, France's far right party, who just happened to be in the Dominican Republic the week before the pilots escaped.

One account says that National Front deputy Aymeric Chauprade whisked the two men away via boat. The group reportedly took a boat from the Dominican Republic to a larger boat that was anchored offshore and eventually transported them to Saint Martin, a French island in the Caribbean.

Another report says that Chauprade got the men on a boat, traveled offshore, and privately chartered helicopter then arrived to whisk both suspects away.

While the pilots seem to have escaped, at least for the moment, a passenger and crew member on the plane are still in the Dominican Republic. The passenger was injured in motorcycle accident roughly 2 weeks ago, while the crew member is in jail.

The Dominican authorities say that they are in the process of issuing international arrest warrants for the escaped pilots.