Bissau, Dec. 3, 2024 (Lusa) - The plane carrying 2.6 tonnes of drugs seized in Guinea-Bissau in September left from Mexico and was bound for Mali, according to the five suspects in the case that began being tried on Monday in the Guinea-Bissau capital.
The court heard all the defendants in the first session on Monday, who refused to reveal who chartered the flight, saying only that the plane left Mexico and was bound for Mali and that the stop in Bissau was due to an emergency.
This trial hearing in the case was marked by a forced stoppage due to a failure in the power system at the courthouse, which affected much of the Guinea-Bissau capital.
The hearing resumed with questions to the five occupants of the aircraft that transported the drugs to Bissau and, unanimously, all confirmed that the plane's destination was Mali and only landed in the Guinea-Bissau capital "because of an emergency".
"I'm the co-pilot of the plane. We were hired to fly from Mexico to Mali, the plane ran out of fuel and we decided to land in an emergency in Bissau," declared one of the official suspects.
Continuing, and always with an official designated by the Guinea-Bissau ministry of foreign affairs as an interpreter from Spanish into Portuguese, the co-pilot said that he found himself "in this situation" without knowing the reasons.
"We didn't know that the plane had drugs on it," he said, following the same argument that had been put to the court by the other defendants, all members of the aircraft's crew.
The five have been in pre-trial detention since the seizure of the drugs and the plane and the defence of one of the official suspects asked the court to authorise the lifting of the coercion measure ‘for medical reasons’, due to the alleged illness of the Brazilian citizen who was also a member of the crew surprised by the Judicial Police (PJ) on September 7 on board the plane.
The defence of the other defendants, made up of four Guinea-Bissau lawyers, supported the request, which was rejected by the panel of judges.
The court also refused the defendants' defence request to return the plane, a Gulfstream IV, seized by the Bissau authorities, on the grounds that the plane case “is another matter”.
Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has announced on several occasions that the aircraft will be sold and the money returned to the state.
The trial session was marked by several ‘I prefer to remain silent’ answers from the five defendants, particularly when asked who ordered the plane to land at Bissau airport, which countries it crossed before landing in the Guinea-Bissau capital or who would be the owner of the ‘parcel’ delivered in Mali.
The public prosecutor also wanted to know why the crew didn't inspect the aircraft before taking off in Mexico, since they claimed not to know the nature of the cargo being transported, to which the co-pilot replied that the practice "doesn't apply to private flights".
The official suspect also preferred not to identify the organisation that hired the aircraft in Mexico for Mali.
"They are acquaintances, friends," he said.
To the defence's questions, the co-pilot replied that the Guinea-Bissau Judicial Police did not present a search and seizure warrant for the plane, that they were not accompanied by lawyers during the inquiries, that they did not attend the weighing and testing of the drugs seized and that they were never accompanied by interpreters.
The defence also wanted to know if the plane had the capacity to carry more than 2.6 tonnes of drugs, to which the official suspect said it did not.
"Even more so with those people on board," remarked the co-pilot of the plane, which is parked in the military wing of Osvaldo Vieira International Airport.
The panel of judges urged the eight witnesses, seven Guinea-Bissau nationals and one foreigner, to leave the courtroom with the indication that they would not be heard until Thursday.
MB/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
