Which do You Think is the Guilty One?

bill barilko

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Mar 4, 2009
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Classic story classic clueless bleeding heart Canada media-someone in this crew facilitated the stashing of the drugs and is now cowering in a corner hoping no one notices them and they end up with a free ride home.

This is the crew and I think it was the two on the left



Government concerned about safety of Canadian crew who reported cocaine in plane in Dominican Republic

5 crew members remain there without charges after authorities reported finding cocaine on flight


The crew of a Pivot Airlines flight, including Captain Robert Di Venanzo, second from right, was detained in the Dominican Republic in April after authorities reported finding millions of dollars worth of cocaine onboard. The crew posted a video pleading with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help them.

Canadian government officials say they're concerned for the safety of members of a Canadian flight crew in the Dominican Republic and are trying to get them an expedited investigation and home quickly if no charges are laid.

On April 5, Dominican authorities detained the five Canadian crew members — two pilots, two flight attendants and a maintenance engineer — after the crew say they reported finding a bag hidden in the belly of a Pivot Airlines plane.

Dominican drug control officials later posted a video online claiming they found eight black duffel bags stuffed with more than 200 kilograms of cocaine onboard the plane.

The prime minister and Foreign Affairs minister raised the matter with their counterparts at the Summit of the Americas last week and were assured that the case would be handled according to the rule of law.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told CBC News the government continues to ask for more to be done.

"I'm very concerned about the well-being of our Canadian crew," said Alghabra. "We will do whatever it takes to find a way to, first, ensure that they have due process and that their rights are protected, second, to see them come back home safely."

One of the pilots, Captain Robert Di Venanzo, told CBC News that while he's grateful for what the government has done, it's not enough.

'We thought we were heroes'
Di Venanzo says he and his colleagues have been stuck in Dominican Republic for the past six weeks and are living a nightmare because they did the right thing.

"We thought we were heroes, what we found and what we reported," Di Venanzo said on a Zoom call from an undisclosed location in the country. "We thought we did an amazing thing by not allowing these things to come back to Canada."

Di Venanzo said the next thing they knew, they had zip-tied handcuffs on and Dominican authorities were transporting them to a local detention centre.

Canadian crew says they were jailed after reporting suspected contraband on Dominican Republic flight
During the crew's nine days in jail, inmates repeatedly told them that if they didn't call home and have their family members transfer them money, they would be killed, Di Venanzo said.

"We've been threatened with death by narco criminals, extorted by inmates, and have lived in inhumane and humiliating conditions," said Di Venanzo on a video posted online with his crew last week begging the Canadian government for help.

"In prison, a dead body was placed outside our cell and we were told we would be next. We are living a nightmare."

Crew say they found bag in avionic bay
Pivot Airlines says the ordeal started when the crew flew into Punta Cana in the evening on April 4 with another commercial airline.

The crew's job was to fly home a 50-seat Pivot jet to Toronto that had been chartered by an Alberta real estate investment company. The plane had landed in Punta Cana on March 31 and stayed parked for five days in a secure location guarded by a U.S. company, the airline said. The original Pivot crew flew back to Canada, Pivot said.

On April 5, a mechanical engineer was troubleshooting an issue with the plane before takeoff to Toronto, Pivot said. That's when he spotted — in a bay under the front of the plane filled with computers, wires and fans — a black bag, the airline said.

The crew immediately cleared the passengers from the aircraft, then called RCMP and local police, said Di Venanzo.

"We didn't know at that time if it was an explosive device or contraband," said Di Venanzo.

Hours later Dominican authorities brought the crew outside where they had laid out all the duffel bags of drugs on the tarmac that they said was recovered from the plane.

The crew were then detained and crammed in a cell with up to 26 other inmates, Di Venanzo said. He said they weren't fed for three days and had to sleep on the ground or standing.

"It's just terrible," he said.

In a statement issued to CBC News, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said "consular officials are providing assistance and are in contact with the families of the Canadian citizens."

"The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs is also directly engaged on this file," said Joly's office. "This is a priority. Because of privacy concerns, we cannot discuss any further details."

Appeal underway to place Canadians back in jail
Since being released from detention in April, the crew haven't yet been interviewed by investigators or charged with anything, said Di Venanzo.

But Dominican authorities have told the crew, Di Venanzo said, that they cannot leave the country until the investigation is completed, which could take another 10 months.

Looming is a court hearing on July 21, where the Dominican Republic's prosecutor is appealing the decision to allow the Canadians out on bail.

Canadian flight attendant Christina Carello said in a video last week posted online she was "begging" for help.

"Mr. Prime Minister, if we go back to jail here, we know we might never come home," said Carello.

President of Dominican Republic gave Trudeau assurances
The airline said it's now housing its employees in undisclosed locations with private security. Di Venanzo described the crew's bail conditions as "house arrest," adding they don't have access to their passports or their own phones and are under constant surveillance by security personnel.

The CEO of Pivot Airlines, Eric Edmondson, says he's "very grateful" for the federal minister's help so far but wants the crew repatriated.

"They need to be protected," said Edmondson, who wants his crew brought back to Canada soon. "They informed on narco criminals, it's public and they're now in danger."
 
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Tecumsehsbones

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"I'm very concerned about the well-being of our Canadian crew," said Alghabra. "We will do whatever it takes to find a way to, first, ensure that they have due process and that their rights are protected, second, to see them come back home safely."
It's the DR. Shouldn't be too expensive.
 

spaminator

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Canadian airline crew detained for months in Dominican Republic to be released
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Publishing date:Nov 11, 2022 • 21 hours ago • 2 minute read • 32 Comments

As soon as they heard the news they will be released from being held in the Dominican Republic the Pivot Airlines flight crew broke down.


“We we’re all crying,” said flight attendant Alex Rozov.


He is one of the five crew members who have been stuck there since April 5.

They were arrested and jailed by Dominican Republic authorities after they themselves notified law enforcement there and in Canada about suspicious packages hidden in a computer bay on board.

After nine days in a narco prison they were released on bail and have been living under armed guard in an undisclosed location while the company and lawyers tried to secure their freedom.

That day finally came.

“We found out at 9 p.m. last night,” said Rozov.

The crew were very nervous about an upcoming hearing that could have revoked their bail and put them back in prison.




Needless to say this has been a nightmare for them.

“It has been very difficult,” said Rozov.

And they still don’t know when they will be coming home.

“It could be as long as two weeks,” said Rozov.

It should be today. It should have been months ago.

This was especially evident when Pivot Airlines CEO Eric Edmondson told the Sun a private investigator found video evidence that proved his crew was not involved.

Reports say the seven passengers on board are set to be released as well.

In a statement released Friday, Edmondson said Pivot Airlines was “deeply relieved” that the company’s crew members will be returning home.

“We are grateful for their courage, resilience, and honesty throughout this devastating ordeal. When they return home to Canada, they will be returning as heroes – as they rightly deserve,” Edmondson said.

He said the company does not have a timeline for their return.

“There have been considerable delays and uncertainty throughout this case, and we are urging the Dominican Republic authorities to begin the process of releasing the crew without delay,” Edmondson said.
 
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bill barilko

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Which, the people who did the right thing, the DR for arresting and holding them for doing that right thing, or everyone just for being people and people are, in general, idiots?
What 'Right Thing'?

Because no one grabbed the first taxi to the Haitian border and then the first flight to Canada they were too stupid, cowardly & naïve.

Those people's lives are ruined they'll never work in aviation ever again and any time they cross an international border they'll be pulled in for 'further checks'.
 

Serryah

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What 'Right Thing'?

Right thing would be turning in the suspected bag to the proper people (aka authorities).

Didn't know that had to be explained, usually that's a common sense thing.

Then again, common sense seems to be disappearing nowadays.

Because no one grabbed the first taxi to the Haitian border and then the first flight to Canada they were too stupid, cowardly & naïve.

So, wanting them to do EVERYTHING they could to look like they were guilty AF is what they should'a done? Got'cha.

Those people's lives are ruined they'll never work in aviation ever again and any time they cross an international border they'll be pulled in for 'further checks'.

Sadly true.
 
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bill barilko

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'We thought we were heroes' - stupid, stupid, stupid

Canadian airline crew detained in Dominican Republic since April back in Canada​

Pivot Airlines crew arrived safely in Toronto Thursday evening

A Canadian passenger airline crew detained in the Dominican Republic since April has arrived back in Canada.

The five-person crew landed in Toronto Thursday evening, according to Pivot Airlines.

"While we are relieved for the crew's long overdue return, we know that this incident has taken a heavy toll on their lives, and the lives of their families," said airline CEO Eric Edmondson in a statement. "For that reason, we are asking media and the public to respect their privacy at this time."

The ordeal began in early April of this year, when the five-person crew of a Pivot Airlines flight from Calgary to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, found a strange bag aboard the aircraft and reported it to authorities.

More bags were subsequently discovered, and local police say they eventually found more than 200 kilograms of cocaine aboard the jet.

'Living a nightmare'​

It's not entirely clear what happened.

The two pilots, two flight attendants and one part-time maintenance engineer were jailed, then later released on bail after surrendering their passports pending further investigation.

Following the cocaine discovery, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and Unifor said their members were arbitrarily detained, threatened and prosecuted despite following Transport Canada protocols and international laws.

In June, one of the pilots, Captain Robert Di Venanzo, told CBC News that he and the other pilot, two flight attendants and a maintenance engineer, were "living a nightmare" after they did what they thought was the right thing by reporting the drugs to the authorities.

"We thought we were heroes, what we found and what we reported," he said at the time. "We thought we did an amazing thing by not allowing these things to come back to Canada."

WATCH | Pilot describes how he and fellow crew members were detained: