Seven detained over 1.3 tons of cocaine seized in Brazil

Çetin Aydın-Istanbul

At least seven people, including a pilot and the executive of a company, have been detained over the 1.3 tons of cocaine Brazilian authorities seized on a plane operated by a Turkish company this summer.

In August, a jet operated by ACM Air, owned by ACM Holding, landed in Brazil with a Spanish passenger on board. The Brazilian police, acting on a tip-off, searched the plane and found 1.3 tons of cocaine.

The Spanish national passenger, Gonzales Valdes, was arrested, but he died in a Brazilian prison in October. The Brazilian authorities released Veli Demir, the Turkish pilot of the private jet who arrived in Turkey last Sunday. Upon his arrival, Demir was detained by the Turkish narcotics police.

Under the instructions from the prosecutor’s office, units from the Narcotics Bureau raided the headquarters of the ACM Holding in Istanbul and seized documents.

As part of the investigation, Şeyhmus Özkan, the board chairman of ACM Holding, and six other people were also detained for interrogation.

It turned out the plane on which the Brazilian police seized the 1.3 tons of cocaine stashed in 23 suitcases had been used previously by the Turkish Prime Ministry and Presidency for years and was sold in 2016.