A Canadian charter crew being detained in the Dominican Republic on drug-related matters has been released on bail. A judge ordered their release on payment of one million Dominican pesos ($18,100) bail each. A condition of their release is that the five crew members of the Pivot Airlines Bombardier CRJ-100ER remain in the Dominican Republic until the matter is resolved.

The judge also released the six passengers on similar bail conditions. Four of the passengers are Canadian, one is an Indian national and the other is Dominican.

The CRJ-100ER is still sitting on the ground at Punta Cana

The aircraft, registration C-FWRR, arrived at Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) on March 31. It had left Toronto Pearson International Airport at 14:09 for the 4:30 hours flight to the Dominican Republic.

As the aircraft was being readied for the return leg some days later a crew member discovered an unidentified black bag in the aircraft's avionics bay.

After making the find, the crew reported it to local authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Closer inspection by authorities revealed it contained more than 200 kg (440 lbs) of cocaine, with an estimated street value of around $25 million.

It was then that things turned very ugly for the crew, who quickly went from hero to zero in a matter of hours.

In a statement, Pivot Airlines, a Canadian charter business said that its crew members had been threatened while in custody. A Pivot spokesperson said:

"The continued prosecution and credible threats to the lives of our crew in the Dominican republic raise serious concerns for all those traveling to the country, including those considering vacationing in the Dominican Republic. We believe this incident should cause all travelers to consider making alternative travel plans."

Whistleblowers get no protection

Pivot says a maintenance technician who was traveling with the two pilots and two flight attendants discovered a black bag inside the avionics bay. On the CRJ-100ER the avionics bay is a crawl space beneath the cockpit that contains computer hardware and wiring.

It is not usually accessed by flight crews, although ground crews are more likely to access it.

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Pivot strongly made the point that its crew had prevented the importation of more than 200 kg of cocaine into Canada. However, soon after they found themselves in separate detention facilities, sharing communal cells with accused drug traffickers.

With a lengthy investigation looming, Pivot said:

"It is unacceptable that a Canadian aircrew could remain detained for the duration of a potential twelve-month investigation for a suspected crime that they reported. We are deeply concerned for the safety, security and ethical and humane treatment of our crew."

An April 6 statement from the Dominican Republic's National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) says that the DNCD had seized the drugs with the support of the Specialized Airport Security Corps, State intelligence agencies, and the Public Ministry.

This proclamation of a grand, multi-agency intelligence coup makes no mention that the find was down to an alert Pivot Airline's maintenance technician, who was arrested for his efforts.

Source: Global News