Difference between revisions of "2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust"

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|image=2006_Mexico_DC-9_drug_bust.jpg
 
|image=2006_Mexico_DC-9_drug_bust.jpg
 
|start=April 10, 2006
 
|start=April 10, 2006
|constitutes=deep event, drug bust, drug trafficking
+
|abbreviation=Cocaine 1
|description=A DC-9 made an emergency landing and was found to be containing over 5 tonnes of cocaine. The pilot "disappeared", unnamed, and the plane was deregistered and sold within days to an unknown customer in Venezuela.  
+
|constitutes=mid-level deep event, drug bust, drug trafficking, CIA/Drug trafficking/Exposure,
 +
|description=A DC-9 made an emergency landing and was found to be containing over 5 tonnes of cocaine. The pilot "disappeared", unnamed, and the plane was deregistered and sold within days to an unknown customer in Venezuela.
 
|end=April 10, 2006
 
|end=April 10, 2006
 
|locations=Mexico
 
|locations=Mexico
 
}}
 
}}
An aging DC-9 which was not fit to fly<ref name=spt>http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/01/Northpinellas/Plane_with_a_past_dis.shtml</ref> used for moving cocaine from [[Venezuela]] to [[USA]] had an engine failure and made an emergency landing in [[Mexico]]. [[Michael Braun]], Chief of Operations of the [[DEA]] testified in congress that 5.6 tonnes of cocaine were found aboard the plane.<ref>http://www.dea.gov/pr/speeches-testimony/2006t/ct042606p.html</ref> The pilots were never apprehended, and the plane also "disappeared". Arrests are reported, but no one is known to have gone to trial as a result of this [[deep event]].<ref name="sptimes">http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/01/news_pf/Northpinellas/Plane_with_a_past_dis.shtml</ref>
+
The '''2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust''' happened on April 10 to a DC-9, which was not fit to fly,<ref name=spt>http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/01/Northpinellas/Plane_with_a_past_dis.shtml</ref> en route from from [[Venezuela]] to [[USA]]. After an engine failure it made an emergency landing in [[Mexico]], where it was discovered to contain over 5 tonnes of [[cocaine]]. [[Michael Braun]], Chief of Operations of the [[DEA]] testified to the [[US Congress]] that 5.6 tonnes of cocaine were found aboard the plane.<ref name=DEA>http://www.dea.gov/pr/speeches-testimony/2006t/ct042606p.html</ref> The co-pilot was arrested, but the [[pilot]] was not. [[Daniel Hopsicker]] dubbed it "'''Cocaine 1'''" in reference to the cargo and the fact that it was painted to impersonate a US government plane.<ref name=mcp2013>http://www.madcowprod.com/2013/09/27/six-years-on-the-mysterious-crash-of-cocaine2/</ref>
  
 
==Official Narrative==
 
==Official Narrative==
The article was created on Wikipedia in 2006, and although soon after it was created it was nominated for speedy deletion, it remains there as of 2015. The [[Wikipedia]] talk page notes that "most of the [[mainstream media]] sources on this story have removed the stories for some reason",<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:2006_Mexico_DC-9_drug_bust</ref> so the {{on}} would seem to be more or less that this didn't happen, or, as a senior editor once said about the [[BBC]]]'s premature report of [[9-11/WTC7/Collapse/Censorship#BBC_Response |the collapse of a skyscraper in New York]]: "If we reported [it], it would have been an error - no more than that."<ref>https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/WTC7/Collapse/Censorship#BBC_Response</ref>
+
The [[DEA]] used the event to suggest the success of their campaign to intercept [[smuggling]] by sea.<ref name=DEA/> A Wikipedia article was created 9 days after the event, nominated for speedy deletion less than 4 months later, but not deleted.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/N900SA</ref> The [[Wikipedia]] talk page notes that "most of the [[mainstream media]] sources on this story have removed the stories for some reason",<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:2006_Mexico_DC-9_drug_bust</ref> so the {{on}} would seem to be more or less that this didn't happen, or, as a senior editor once said about the [[BBC]]'s premature report of [[9-11/WTC7/Destruction/Censorship#BBC_Response |the collapse of a skyscraper in New York]]: "If we reported [it], it would have been an error - no more than that."<ref>[[9-11/WTC7/Destruction/Censorship#BBC_Response]]</ref>
 +
[[Image:DC-9-skyway.jpg|left|thumbnail|333px|The DC-9 sporting a Skyway logo in 2004, 8 months before the corresponding stock swap was reported to the SEC.<br/>Photo: D.R. 2004 Michael Cater, Airliners.net]]
  
 
==Plane History==
 
==Plane History==
Originally manufactured in 1966 for [[Trans-World Airlines]] as '''N1061T''', the aircraft has had a long career flying for various individuals and companies, including Tracinda Investment ('''N241TC'''), [[Kenny Rogers]] ('''N9KR'''), Southmark Corporation ('''N89SM'''), the [[Seattle Seahawks]] ('''N40SH'''), Aircraft 45775, Inc, and HW Aviation.
+
The aircraft was originally manufactured in 1966 for [[Trans-World Airlines]] as '''N1061T'''. It had a long career flying for various individuals and companies, including Tracinda Investment ('''N241TC'''), [[Kenny Rogers]] ('''N9KR'''), Southmark Corporation ('''N89SM'''), the [[Seattle Seahawks]] ('''N40SH'''), Aircraft 45775, Inc, and HW Aviation. It "was [[Howard Dean]]'s presidential campaign plane in 2004". As often happens with planes involved in drug busts, the paper trail of ownership gets more convoluted in the time leading up to the bust.
   
 
The DC-9 was traded to SkyWay Communications Holding by duPont Investment Fund 57289, Inc in exchange for 28,000,000 shares of stock<ref>[http://sec.edgar-online.com/2004/12/20/0001070876-04-000212/Section2.asp Skyway Form 8K details]</ref> in December, 2004, though photographs show the SkyWay logo to have been painted on the aircraft at least eight months before.<ref>[http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0562516/M/ Airlines.net image]</ref> The FAA records, however, show the aircraft as registered to Royal Sons LLC. SkyWay Communications had previously announced the purchase of another DC-9, tail number N120NE (S/N 45731), to act as an "airborne test environment for new SWYC products and services".<ref>[http://skywaycommunicationsholding.com/_wsn/page2.html]</ref>
 
  
The ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' states that "a man identifying himself as [[Jorge Corrales]] said he needed a plane for a traveling soccer team. The plane's owner, [[Fred Geffon]], needed the money."<ref name=spt/>
+
===Skyway Communications LLC===
 +
[[Image:N900SA.jpg|right|thumbnail|350px|<br/>As the photographer noted "Interesting seal by the door."<ref>http://www.airliners.net/photo/Douglas-DC-9-15/0562516/&sid=67d31975f256d72a8562f3f0f92da930</ref><br/>(c) S.C. Rubke]]
 +
[[Skyway Communications LLC]] (not to be confused with the similarly located [[Skyway Communications Inc.]])<ref name=nn49/> is the parent company of [[Skyway Aircraft]] in Clearwater. Skyway Communications arranged to purchase the DC-9 (tail number N900SA) via a stock swap with the [[Costa Rica]]-based firm [[Dupont Investment Fund 57289]], according to an 8K filing with the [[SEC]] of in 15 November 2004.<ref>http://www.secinfo.com/d1zWxj.16r.d.htm</ref> A Collateralized Loan Agreement with [[Lantex, Ltd]] was filed on December 16, 2004<ref>[http://sec.edgar-online.com/2004/12/20/0001070876-04-000212/Section2.asp Skyway Form 8K details]</ref> It is interesting that photographs reveal that the aircraft was already sporting the SkyWay logo in April 2004, months before the change of ownership was officially reported.<ref>[http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0562516/M/ Airlines.net image]</ref><ref name=nn49/>
  
==The Landing==
+
===Royal Sons===
The aircraft departed [[Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela)|Simón Bolívar International Airport]] in [[Caracas, Venezuela]] on the afternoon of April 10, 2006. Approximately 1.5 hours into the flight, it reportedly returned to the airport and refueled before resuming its flight to Toluca, [[Mexico]]. However, some time into the flight they made an emergency landing at the Ciudad del Carmen airport, claiming hydraulic problems with the landing gear.  The flight crew told the ground crew to keep people away from the aircraft, claiming leaking oil could be hazardous and that a tire could explode.  The pilot reportedly left the area at this time and was never caught or identified. One source names the official pilot as "Alberto Damiani", but notes that he was not flying the plane.<ref>[http://oraclesyndicate.twoday.net/stories/2070518 - DC 9 Kokainflieger war in Kolumbien]</ref>
+
In August 2005 the jet was registered with the [[FAA]] by a company called [[Royal Sons]] Inc. [[Daniel Hopsicker]] writes that "Royal Sons Motor Yacht Sales, Inc. DBA Royal Sons" and a company owned by [[Brent Kovar]] (a friend of [[Tom DeLay]]) called [[Skyway Communications Holding Corp]] jointly signed a loan with United Bank and Trust Company in St. Petersburg, Florida. for $1.5 million. This is interesting since another a year after this event, another luxury jet registered in St. Peteresburg, ''[[Cocaine 2]]'', also registered St. Petersburg, [[Florida]], was revealed to be loaded with cocaine.<ref name=mcp2013/>
  
==The bust==
+
==='Jorge Corrales'===
The Mexican police approached the aircraft with drug-sniffing dogs and the ground crew attempted to keep them away, but to no avail. The dogs identified the presence of drugs and the police entered the aircraft, possibly arresting the co-pilot, [[Miguel Vicente Vázquez Guerra]] or ([[Carmelo Vázquez Guerra]]?), a [[Colombia]]n National with [[Venezuela]]n passport.<ref>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/34558.html</ref>
+
The plane was reportedly sold to an unknown [[Venezuela]]n buyer just days before the bust in Mexico.<ref name=nn49>http://www.narconews.com/Issue49/article2989.html</ref> The ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' reported that a "man identifying himself as [[Jorge Corrales]] said he needed a plane for a traveling soccer team. The plane's owner, [[Fred Geffon]], needed the money" and received six payments from Corrales totaling $1.047-million.<ref name=spt/> [[Frederick J. Geffon]], president of [[Royal Sons]], was a shareholder in Skyway Communications and his company was a major creditor in the Skyway Communications bankruptcy.<ref>http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/skyway.bankrupt.filing.initial.pdf</ref><ref>http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/Skyway.equity.shareholders.pdf</ref><ref name=nn49/>
  
A Falcon business jet of [[Mexican]] registry (XB-IYK) was reportedly making a rendezvous with the DC-9 and its crew was also arrested.
+
The [[FAA]] stated that an aviation inspector had authorized one flight to a hangar in Caracas, Venezuela, so the plane could be repaired, noting that overseas repairs would have been cheaper. The plane flew to Venezuela, but was not repaired there.<ref name=spt/>
  
There are some reports that say Mexican soldiers patrolling the airport observed a Falcon arriving several days before the DC-9's arrival. The two Mexican pilots were seen in the area throughout the next few days and reportedly attempted to pay for the DC-9 to make an emergency landing after the airport closed. It is unknown if this is the same aircraft and crew that was arrested.
+
==The Flight==
 +
[[image:skywap.jpg|left|300px]]
 +
The aircraft departed Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, [[Venezuela]] on the afternoon of April 10, 2006. It was painted with the distinctive blue and white color color scheme of official U.S. Government planes, with an official-looking seal painted on its side, announcing "SKY WAY AIRCRAFT -  PROTECTION OF AMERICA'S SKIES", with a familiar eagle and olive branch motif. The DC-9 was preceded by a smaller executive jet, possibly a Falcon business jet of [[Mexican]] registry (XB-IYK).
 +
 
 +
===The Cargo===
 +
[[image:128 black bags.jpg|right|300px|thumbnail|Artist's impression of the luggage]]
 +
The plane, which had no passengers,<ref name=mexidata/> was loaded with 5.5 tons of [[cocaine]] packed in 128 black suitcases<ref name=mexidata/> with the word "PRIVATE" stenciled on the side.<ref name=mcp20060417>http://www.madcowprod.com/2006/04/17/owners-of-plane-seized-with-5-5-tons-of-cocaine/</ref> Approximately 1.5 hours into the flight, it reportedly returned to the airport and refueled before resuming its flight to Toluca, Mexico.{{cn}}
 +
 
 +
===Emergency landing in Ciudad del Carmen===
 +
At some time into the flight they made an emergency landing at the Ciudad del Carmen airport, 350 miles to the southwest of Cancun claiming hydraulic problems with the landing gear. The flight crew told the ground crew to keep people away from the aircraft, claiming leaking oil could be hazardous and that a tire could explode. The pilot reportedly left the area at this time and was never caught or identified. One source names the official pilot as "[[Alberto Damiani]]", but notes that he was not flying the plane.<ref>[http://oraclesyndicate.twoday.net/stories/2070518 - DC 9 Kokainflieger war in Kolumbien]</ref> The co-pilot was named as [[Miguel Vázquez Guerra]], aged 47, a citizen of [[Venezuela]].<ref name=mexidata>http://mexidata.info/id860.html</ref><ref>http://z14.invisionfree.com/GangstersInc/ar/t19.htm - Formerly published by [[AP]] but now withdrawn.</ref>
 +
 
 +
==The Bust==
 +
Mexican soldiers carried out the bust after dogs had identified the presence of drugs. They ignored airport officials' efforts to stop them from approaching the plane, and their claim that there was an oil leak and that it might explode. They arrested the co-pilot, [[Miguel Vicente Vázquez Guerra]] or ([[Carmelo Vázquez Guerra]]?), a [[Colombia]]n National with [[Venezuela]]n passport.<ref>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/34558.html</ref>
 +
 
 +
A Falcon business jet of [[Mexican]] registry (XB-IYK) owned by the Government of Mexico's Water Commission, was making a rendezvous with the DC-9. Some reports that say Mexican soldiers patrolling the airport observed a Falcon arriving several days before the DC-9's arrival.{{cn}} The two pilots were [[Fernando Poot Pérez]] and [[Marco Antonio Pérez Gracia]], both employees of the National Water Commission of Mexico. They reportedly attempted to pay for the DC-9 to make an emergency landing after the airport closed. They were arrested, and the latter (associated with another doomed drug flight, [[N987SA]]) supposedly hung himself "with his socks", in the maximum security Altiplano prison facility outside Mexico City.<ref name=mc122120/>
  
 
==Fallout==
 
==Fallout==
Both before and after the bust, the aircraft was listed for sale on the website of United Flite (with identical - and therefore mendacious statistics of its flying time) a company with the same address as several aviation companies, including Royal Sons.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060530131328/http://www.unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9 </ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20060821224309/http://unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9</ref> This information was removed as "irrelevant" by Wikipedia administrator "Akradecki". [[Daniel Hopsicker]] opines that this is a [[CIA]] front company.<ref>[http://www.madcowprod.com/04172006.html Mad Cow Morning News - Plane With Five Tons Of Coke Owned By Royal Sons]</ref>
+
Both before and after the bust, the aircraft was listed for sale on the website of [[United Flite]] (with identical - and therefore mendacious - statistics of its flying time). Interestingly "United Flite" has the same address as several aviation companies, including Royal Sons.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20060530131328/http://www.unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20060821224309/http://unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9</ref> This information was removed as "irrelevant" by Wikipedia administrator "Akradecki". [[Daniel Hopsicker]] opines that this is a [[CIA]] front company.<ref>[http://www.madcowprod.com/04172006.html Mad Cow Morning News - Plane With Five Tons Of Coke Owned By Royal Sons]</ref>
  
==Investigation==
+
===Murders in Mexico===
The [[U.S. Department of Homeland Security]] reportedly interviewed the officials interviewed Fred Geffon about the cocaine eventually found on board. No charges were forthcoming.<ref name=spt/>
+
The Director of Civil Aviation in the Yucatan, [[Jose Luis Soladana Ortiz]] was [[assassinated]] on his way to work, the same day that three tortured bodies were discovered alongside a road near the Merida airport. [[Martin Gomez Soto]], a traffic controller at Cancun International Airport, was abducted and is presumed dead.<ref name=mc122120>http://www.madcowprod.com/12212007.html</ref>
 +
 
 +
==="Investigation" in USA===
 +
The [[U.S. Department of Homeland Security]] reportedly interviewed the officials interviewed [[Frederick Geffon]] about the [[cocaine]] found on board, but no charges were made.<ref name=spt/> Pleading ignorance, Geffon stated that "I just chalked it all up to a bad experience".<ref name=nn49/> [[Daniel Hopsicker]] asserts that "Geffon back-dated sales documents and then had them faxed to the [[FAA]] several days after his DC9 was already in the news for the big bust".<ref name=mcsloppy>http://www.madcowprod.com/10092007.html</ref> He also suggested that the bust was responsible for Porter Goss’ resignation as [[CIA Director]].<ref>http://www.madcowprod.com/2006/05/25/dc9-with-5-5-tons-of-cocaine-was-cia-plane/</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Wachovia bank failure?===
 +
[[Daniel Hopsicker]] wrote in 2013 that "it was the biggest drug seizure on an airplane in Mexican history. It led directly to the forced sale of [[Wachovia]], then America's 4th largest bank."<ref>http://www.madcowprod.com/2013/07/04/dc-9-cocaine-one-kingpins-secret-conviction/</ref>
 +
 
 +
===Plane used for rendition===
 +
In December 2006, Mexican newspaper ''[[Reforma]]'' reported the aircraft was being operated by the [[Procuraduría General de la República]] (PGR) to transport prisoners with extradition charges to the USA under [[Daniel Cabeza de Vaca]] and was based in Mexico City.<ref name=rend>Y estrenan avión... decomisado
 +
Abel Barajas. [[Reforma]]. Mexico City: Dec 24, 2006. pg. 1</ref><ref>Utilizan avión incautado
 +
Palabra. Saltillo, Mexico: Apr 11, 2007. pg. 16</ref> as XC-LJZ.<ref>http://www.edinavtn.co.uk/assets/files/PDFs/DC9.pdf</ref>
 +
 
 +
==="Cocaine 2"===
 +
{{FA|2007 Yucatan Gulfstream drug crash}}
 +
The next year a [[2007 Yucatan Gulfstream drug crash|DC-9 full of cocaine crashed in Mexico]]. When it later transpired that it had been used by the [[CIA]] for "[[rendition]]" it was dubbed "Cocaine 2" in reference to this earlier CIA plane, which had vanished and was again being used to transport prisoners.<ref name=rend/>
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
 
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
 
*[http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNumSQL.asp?NNumbertxt=900SA&cmndfind.x=3&cmndfind.y=12 FAA - N-Number Inquiry Results for N900SA]
 
*[http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNumSQL.asp?NNumbertxt=900SA&cmndfind.x=3&cmndfind.y=12 FAA - N-Number Inquiry Results for N900SA]

Latest revision as of 14:38, 13 September 2023

Event.png 2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust (mid-level deep event,  drug bust,  drug trafficking,  CIA/Drug trafficking/Exposure) Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
5
2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust.jpg
DateApril 10, 2006
LocationMexico
AbbreviationCocaine 1
DescriptionA DC-9 made an emergency landing and was found to be containing over 5 tonnes of cocaine. The pilot "disappeared", unnamed, and the plane was deregistered and sold within days to an unknown customer in Venezuela.

The 2006 Mexico DC-9 drug bust happened on April 10 to a DC-9, which was not fit to fly,[1] en route from from Venezuela to USA. After an engine failure it made an emergency landing in Mexico, where it was discovered to contain over 5 tonnes of cocaine. Michael Braun, Chief of Operations of the DEA testified to the US Congress that 5.6 tonnes of cocaine were found aboard the plane.[2] The co-pilot was arrested, but the pilot was not. Daniel Hopsicker dubbed it "Cocaine 1" in reference to the cargo and the fact that it was painted to impersonate a US government plane.[3]

Official Narrative

The DEA used the event to suggest the success of their campaign to intercept smuggling by sea.[2] A Wikipedia article was created 9 days after the event, nominated for speedy deletion less than 4 months later, but not deleted.[4] The Wikipedia talk page notes that "most of the mainstream media sources on this story have removed the stories for some reason",[5] so the official narrative would seem to be more or less that this didn't happen, or, as a senior editor once said about the BBC's premature report of the collapse of a skyscraper in New York: "If we reported [it], it would have been an error - no more than that."[6]

The DC-9 sporting a Skyway logo in 2004, 8 months before the corresponding stock swap was reported to the SEC.
Photo: D.R. 2004 Michael Cater, Airliners.net

Plane History

The aircraft was originally manufactured in 1966 for Trans-World Airlines as N1061T. It had a long career flying for various individuals and companies, including Tracinda Investment (N241TC), Kenny Rogers (N9KR), Southmark Corporation (N89SM), the Seattle Seahawks (N40SH), Aircraft 45775, Inc, and HW Aviation. It "was Howard Dean's presidential campaign plane in 2004". As often happens with planes involved in drug busts, the paper trail of ownership gets more convoluted in the time leading up to the bust.

Skyway Communications LLC


As the photographer noted "Interesting seal by the door."[7]
(c) S.C. Rubke

Skyway Communications LLC (not to be confused with the similarly located Skyway Communications Inc.)[8] is the parent company of Skyway Aircraft in Clearwater. Skyway Communications arranged to purchase the DC-9 (tail number N900SA) via a stock swap with the Costa Rica-based firm Dupont Investment Fund 57289, according to an 8K filing with the SEC of in 15 November 2004.[9] A Collateralized Loan Agreement with Lantex, Ltd was filed on December 16, 2004[10] It is interesting that photographs reveal that the aircraft was already sporting the SkyWay logo in April 2004, months before the change of ownership was officially reported.[11][8]

Royal Sons

In August 2005 the jet was registered with the FAA by a company called Royal Sons Inc. Daniel Hopsicker writes that "Royal Sons Motor Yacht Sales, Inc. DBA Royal Sons" and a company owned by Brent Kovar (a friend of Tom DeLay) called Skyway Communications Holding Corp jointly signed a loan with United Bank and Trust Company in St. Petersburg, Florida. for $1.5 million. This is interesting since another a year after this event, another luxury jet registered in St. Peteresburg, Cocaine 2, also registered St. Petersburg, Florida, was revealed to be loaded with cocaine.[3]

'Jorge Corrales'

The plane was reportedly sold to an unknown Venezuelan buyer just days before the bust in Mexico.[8] The Tampa Bay Times reported that a "man identifying himself as Jorge Corrales said he needed a plane for a traveling soccer team. The plane's owner, Fred Geffon, needed the money" and received six payments from Corrales totaling $1.047-million.[1] Frederick J. Geffon, president of Royal Sons, was a shareholder in Skyway Communications and his company was a major creditor in the Skyway Communications bankruptcy.[12][13][8]

The FAA stated that an aviation inspector had authorized one flight to a hangar in Caracas, Venezuela, so the plane could be repaired, noting that overseas repairs would have been cheaper. The plane flew to Venezuela, but was not repaired there.[1]

The Flight

Skywap.jpg

The aircraft departed Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela on the afternoon of April 10, 2006. It was painted with the distinctive blue and white color color scheme of official U.S. Government planes, with an official-looking seal painted on its side, announcing "SKY WAY AIRCRAFT - PROTECTION OF AMERICA'S SKIES", with a familiar eagle and olive branch motif. The DC-9 was preceded by a smaller executive jet, possibly a Falcon business jet of Mexican registry (XB-IYK).

The Cargo

Artist's impression of the luggage

The plane, which had no passengers,[14] was loaded with 5.5 tons of cocaine packed in 128 black suitcases[14] with the word "PRIVATE" stenciled on the side.[15] Approximately 1.5 hours into the flight, it reportedly returned to the airport and refueled before resuming its flight to Toluca, Mexico.[citation needed]

Emergency landing in Ciudad del Carmen

At some time into the flight they made an emergency landing at the Ciudad del Carmen airport, 350 miles to the southwest of Cancun claiming hydraulic problems with the landing gear. The flight crew told the ground crew to keep people away from the aircraft, claiming leaking oil could be hazardous and that a tire could explode. The pilot reportedly left the area at this time and was never caught or identified. One source names the official pilot as "Alberto Damiani", but notes that he was not flying the plane.[16] The co-pilot was named as Miguel Vázquez Guerra, aged 47, a citizen of Venezuela.[14][17]

The Bust

Mexican soldiers carried out the bust after dogs had identified the presence of drugs. They ignored airport officials' efforts to stop them from approaching the plane, and their claim that there was an oil leak and that it might explode. They arrested the co-pilot, Miguel Vicente Vázquez Guerra or (Carmelo Vázquez Guerra?), a Colombian National with Venezuelan passport.[18]

A Falcon business jet of Mexican registry (XB-IYK) owned by the Government of Mexico's Water Commission, was making a rendezvous with the DC-9. Some reports that say Mexican soldiers patrolling the airport observed a Falcon arriving several days before the DC-9's arrival.[citation needed] The two pilots were Fernando Poot Pérez and Marco Antonio Pérez Gracia, both employees of the National Water Commission of Mexico. They reportedly attempted to pay for the DC-9 to make an emergency landing after the airport closed. They were arrested, and the latter (associated with another doomed drug flight, N987SA) supposedly hung himself "with his socks", in the maximum security Altiplano prison facility outside Mexico City.[19]

Fallout

Both before and after the bust, the aircraft was listed for sale on the website of United Flite (with identical - and therefore mendacious - statistics of its flying time). Interestingly "United Flite" has the same address as several aviation companies, including Royal Sons.[20][21] This information was removed as "irrelevant" by Wikipedia administrator "Akradecki". Daniel Hopsicker opines that this is a CIA front company.[22]

Murders in Mexico

The Director of Civil Aviation in the Yucatan, Jose Luis Soladana Ortiz was assassinated on his way to work, the same day that three tortured bodies were discovered alongside a road near the Merida airport. Martin Gomez Soto, a traffic controller at Cancun International Airport, was abducted and is presumed dead.[19]

"Investigation" in USA

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly interviewed the officials interviewed Frederick Geffon about the cocaine found on board, but no charges were made.[1] Pleading ignorance, Geffon stated that "I just chalked it all up to a bad experience".[8] Daniel Hopsicker asserts that "Geffon back-dated sales documents and then had them faxed to the FAA several days after his DC9 was already in the news for the big bust".[23] He also suggested that the bust was responsible for Porter Goss’ resignation as CIA Director.[24]

Wachovia bank failure?

Daniel Hopsicker wrote in 2013 that "it was the biggest drug seizure on an airplane in Mexican history. It led directly to the forced sale of Wachovia, then America's 4th largest bank."[25]

Plane used for rendition

In December 2006, Mexican newspaper Reforma reported the aircraft was being operated by the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) to transport prisoners with extradition charges to the USA under Daniel Cabeza de Vaca and was based in Mexico City.[26][27] as XC-LJZ.[28]

"Cocaine 2"

Full article: Rated 5/5 2007 Yucatan Gulfstream drug crash

The next year a DC-9 full of cocaine crashed in Mexico. When it later transpired that it had been used by the CIA for "rendition" it was dubbed "Cocaine 2" in reference to this earlier CIA plane, which had vanished and was again being used to transport prisoners.[26]


Rating

5star.png 19 August 2016 Robin  "Cocaine One" - 5½ tons of cocaine aboard a plane that lands in Mexico. It then disappears.
Many people are still unaware that things like this can happen. The CIA connected plane was later used for rendition. Porter Goss suddenly resigns as CIA Director for unstated reasons. Corporate media uninterested.
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References

  1. a b c d http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/01/Northpinellas/Plane_with_a_past_dis.shtml
  2. a b http://www.dea.gov/pr/speeches-testimony/2006t/ct042606p.html
  3. a b http://www.madcowprod.com/2013/09/27/six-years-on-the-mysterious-crash-of-cocaine2/
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/N900SA
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:2006_Mexico_DC-9_drug_bust
  6. 9-11/WTC7/Destruction/Censorship#BBC_Response
  7. http://www.airliners.net/photo/Douglas-DC-9-15/0562516/&sid=67d31975f256d72a8562f3f0f92da930
  8. a b c d e http://www.narconews.com/Issue49/article2989.html
  9. http://www.secinfo.com/d1zWxj.16r.d.htm
  10. Skyway Form 8K details
  11. Airlines.net image
  12. http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/skyway.bankrupt.filing.initial.pdf
  13. http://narcosphere.narconews.com/userfiles/70/Skyway.equity.shareholders.pdf
  14. a b c http://mexidata.info/id860.html
  15. http://www.madcowprod.com/2006/04/17/owners-of-plane-seized-with-5-5-tons-of-cocaine/
  16. - DC 9 Kokainflieger war in Kolumbien
  17. http://z14.invisionfree.com/GangstersInc/ar/t19.htm - Formerly published by AP but now withdrawn.
  18. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/34558.html
  19. a b http://www.madcowprod.com/12212007.html
  20. http://web.archive.org/web/20060530131328/http://www.unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9
  21. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821224309/http://unitedflite.com/showspecs.php?ad=9
  22. Mad Cow Morning News - Plane With Five Tons Of Coke Owned By Royal Sons
  23. http://www.madcowprod.com/10092007.html
  24. http://www.madcowprod.com/2006/05/25/dc9-with-5-5-tons-of-cocaine-was-cia-plane/
  25. http://www.madcowprod.com/2013/07/04/dc-9-cocaine-one-kingpins-secret-conviction/
  26. a b Y estrenan avión... decomisado Abel Barajas. Reforma. Mexico City: Dec 24, 2006. pg. 1
  27. Utilizan avión incautado Palabra. Saltillo, Mexico: Apr 11, 2007. pg. 16
  28. http://www.edinavtn.co.uk/assets/files/PDFs/DC9.pdf

External links


Rating

5star.png 19 August 2016 Robin  "Cocaine One" - 5½ tons of cocaine aboard a plane that lands in Mexico. It then disappears.
Many people are still unaware that things like this can happen. The CIA connected plane was later used for rendition. Porter Goss suddenly resigns as CIA Director for unstated reasons. Corporate media uninterested.
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