Crew member of Brazilian presidential aircraft caught with 39 kg of cocaine in Spain

Thursday, June 27th 2019 - 15:11 UTC

Full article 7 comments

Spanish police have arrested a member of the Brazilian Air Force who carried three bags full of cocaine on a military plane to Seville hours before President Jair Bolsonaro’s was scheduled to take a stopover there, police and officials said on Wednesday.

The Brazilian Air Force said in a statement the airman was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and the case was also being investigated by the country’s military police.

A Spanish police source said officers discovered 39 kg of the drug in three pieces of luggage, which they checked on Tuesday while the plane was waiting to continue its journey to Tokyo.

The suspect was supporting Bolsonaro’s trip to Japan for this week’s G20 meeting, Vice President Hamilton Mourao told journalists in Brasilia. The airman had been assigned to remain in Spain and embark on the president’s plane for the final leg of his return trip.

“Obviously, given the quantity of the drug he was carrying, he didn’t buy it on the corner and bring it, right? He was working as a mule. A well qualified mule, so to speak,” said Mourao.

Bolsonaro’s original official itinerary listed Seville as a stopover on Tuesday night, but an updated version cited Lisbon.

In a tweet, Bolsonaro said he had been informed of Tuesday’s arrest by the defense minister and ordered “immediate cooperation with Spanish police”, and described the officer's conduct “disgraceful”.

Further information provided in the Brazilian media indicates that Manoel Silva Rodrigues has since 2015, done at least 29 trips with presidential aircraft. In effect he is reported to have flown with the president from Brasilia to Sao Paulo, last May from Brasilia to Recife and in 18/19 March he flew to Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo. At the time Bolsonaro was on a visit to the United States.

Carlos Bolsonaro also revealed that according to information received Sergeant Silva Rodrigues was also a member of the crew that flew with previous presidents, Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer.

In total the Air Force sergeant flew at least 29 times with the special group of aircraft at the service of the Brazilian executive

In effect Silva Rodrigues is reported to have flown last year with ex president Temer to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. Likewise in 2016 from Brasilia to the north of the country in May 2016 with then president Dilma Rousseff.

According to the Brazil Transparency portal, the sergeant has a monthly salary of some US$ 1.850

Categories: Politics, Brazil, International.

Tags: Bolsonaro drugs, Brasilia, Brazil, Brazil presidential aircraft, Brazilian Air Force, G20, Jair Bolsonaro, Spain, Tokyo.

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:o))
This is just a mountain made of a mole-hill!

For a country reaching the prestige of being one of the major Drug-Exporters; it would be shocking if a presidential staff [indirectly; the president himself] is NOT involved in trafficking [drugs, arms & GOKWE (God only knows what/who ELSE)]!

Why else a network of politics, law & GOKWE was established, well-stabilized AND very active?

REF: “The Armed Forces are not immune to this scourge of drugs” says the VP, Mourão! And even General Heleno brushes the incident aside; briefly mentioning that it was just “bad luck”! Getting caught surely WAS Bad-Luck!

So why make a mountain of a molehill - of a normal and “a day-to-day-routine”?
https://twitter.com/bbcbrasil/status/1144223285938229248

As mentioned elsewhere, about 15 years ago, when I was in South America; I already had foreseen a distinct possibility of a Drug-Dealer or a Religious Leader or both the 2 into 1, being a president. And coincidentally, THAT, is happening! Of course, no one believes in what I predicted but wait till the shit hits the fan!
Jun 27th, 2019 - 02:19 pm 0
DemonTree
https://portaldisparada.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/guerra-%C3%A0s-drogas-capitalismo-avi%C3%A3o-bolsonaro.jpg

I'm sure Mourão is proud Brazilian soldiers are so well qualified in drug-smuggling.

But never mind the cocaine. How was the soldier able to bring over 39kg of excess baggage onto the plane? Unfair government privileges! ;)
Jun 28th, 2019 - 08:19 am 0
:o))
@DemonTree

REF: “How was the soldier able to bring over 39kg of excess baggage onto the plane?”:

THAT's very easy to explain. Or as explained by the armed forces; it was simply the case of bad luck that Spain caught them red handed! But that's a part of the culture - no big deal!
Jun 28th, 2019 - 05:08 pm 0

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