Afghanistan Drug Smuggling
Beech 19
Nope, he wasn't/isn't a pilot, but he did spend a lot of time in the air (helicopters) as the head of security in Afghanistan for a major US contractor. It is a sad story indeed -- more so for his family perhaps than for himself. For him it was a (selfish) choice, but his wife and two children back in SA are innocent victims whose lives were also shattered by this.
I have seen the inside of that particular prison (luckily not as an unwilling "guest"). It is truly a harsh, desolate, and filthy place; exactly as one would imagine the worst prisons were a few centuries ago. There is little chance of emerging many years later with any sanity left -- never mind any resemblance to the person who entered the prison years earlier.
The best that come of this is that others thinking of making "a fortune" this way will give their heads a shake. It sounds cliché but we do need to remember, we only get this one chance.