Southend 707 drug bust
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2 things.
Firstly this is not the first time 500kg of coke has been found in the area. 2 or 3 years ago half a ton was found 3 miles SW of the airport in a lock-up garage.
Secondly, there is a public footpath which runs across the taxiway on the NW side, the footpath is about 50m from the runway and not visible from the tower (which the CAA ordered to relocate about 8 years ago).
So were the crew aware of the customs men and tryed to lob the gear onto the taxi way,
or was this a regular run.Land RWY 24, 360 deg. turn by the church lob the cargo out of the port side onto the grass by the footpath(this is all out of sight of the tower) then proceed to the ramp as normal. Villians waiting in the darkness by the runway side with wheelbarrows, ready to cart the stuff back to transport in the church carpark.
Sounds like SEN needs to rethink security.
Firstly this is not the first time 500kg of coke has been found in the area. 2 or 3 years ago half a ton was found 3 miles SW of the airport in a lock-up garage.
Secondly, there is a public footpath which runs across the taxiway on the NW side, the footpath is about 50m from the runway and not visible from the tower (which the CAA ordered to relocate about 8 years ago).
So were the crew aware of the customs men and tryed to lob the gear onto the taxi way,
or was this a regular run.Land RWY 24, 360 deg. turn by the church lob the cargo out of the port side onto the grass by the footpath(this is all out of sight of the tower) then proceed to the ramp as normal. Villians waiting in the darkness by the runway side with wheelbarrows, ready to cart the stuff back to transport in the church carpark.
Sounds like SEN needs to rethink security.
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This aircraft was formerly based at JNB where it was operated first on the 3D then latterly 3C registers by Tradewinds Airlines - whose logo was a red version of the sail used by Tradewinds late of STN. Prior to their acquisition, it had been declared a constructive total loss by insurers following a heavy landing in Kinshasa, and it was parked at Safair's facility for a considerable time.
Whilst with Tradewinds, it was used extensively by certain parastatals in South Africa for the supply of 'agricultural equipment' to points in North Africa.
Whilst with Tradewinds, it was used extensively by certain parastatals in South Africa for the supply of 'agricultural equipment' to points in North Africa.
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Freightdoggy Dog - indeed so; and also he effectively nicked one of Cessekou's B727s from BJL and took it to NBO where it was flogged to Mussa Bulhan. Allegedly, he was mugged in a hotel car park and the money was taken... 
Hales and Pace - I can only assume maintenance at HeavyLift Engineering as it wasn't on the exempt list ... certainly with the profit from 500kgs of Colombian marching powder you could almost afford their bill!
Hales and Pace - I can only assume maintenance at HeavyLift Engineering as it wasn't on the exempt list ... certainly with the profit from 500kgs of Colombian marching powder you could almost afford their bill!
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Was the brotherinlaw one of the "pilots"? I wander who was the f/e?
I'm just p****** in my pants laughing at the thought of *** taking it up the *** in some jail for a while. Now he and his mates will really know what it's like to be screwed.
Good show SEN customs. Keep up the good work.
I'm just p****** in my pants laughing at the thought of *** taking it up the *** in some jail for a while. Now he and his mates will really know what it's like to be screwed.
Good show SEN customs. Keep up the good work.
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Well it certinly seems like we all know who we are talking about...and also agree on the desired result...sure if he does walk free the owner of said substances will deal with him accordingly anyway...
Has to be one for the Pprune records!
Has to be one for the Pprune records!
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From today's Telegraph:
Knowing CB-J's propensity for wriggling out of things - and for screwing other people - it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was him that tipped off customs in exchange for the usual reward, what is it - 10% of the value of the seizure? It would be rather a lot more than he might have got for transporting it!
Six held over runway cocaine
By David Sapsted
(Filed: 18/10/2001)
POLICE were continuing to question six men last night after Customs officers seized half a ton of cocaine when it was thrown from a cargo plane on to an airport runway.
The haul, with a street value of £32 million to £100 million - depending how it was cut - was the largest single seizure of cocaine flown into Britain.
The drug was packed into suitcases and hurled from the Boeing 707 as it landed at Southend Airport at 9pm on Tuesday. A Customs spokesman said: "The plane taxied to the end of the runway where it stopped. The cargo doors were opened and six huge suitcases were thrown out.
"The plane then taxied to the terminal building. It appears the plan was that the cocaine would be picked up later on."
However, around 30 undercover Customs officers stormed the aircraft and arrested five crew members and an airport worker; four Britons, a Nigerian and a Serb.
The plane, which was impounded, was found to have no other cargo. The men were taken to central London and were being questioned at an undisclosed location last night.
The six suitcases each containing about 200lbs of cocaine were so big and heavy that they needed three officers to carry each one. It is believed the suitcases were to be collected later.
Officers believe that cocaine was smuggled to the Caribbean from South America. The aircraft took off from Jamaica on Sunday night and stopped at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands before heading for Southend.
By David Sapsted
(Filed: 18/10/2001)
POLICE were continuing to question six men last night after Customs officers seized half a ton of cocaine when it was thrown from a cargo plane on to an airport runway.
The haul, with a street value of £32 million to £100 million - depending how it was cut - was the largest single seizure of cocaine flown into Britain.
The drug was packed into suitcases and hurled from the Boeing 707 as it landed at Southend Airport at 9pm on Tuesday. A Customs spokesman said: "The plane taxied to the end of the runway where it stopped. The cargo doors were opened and six huge suitcases were thrown out.
"The plane then taxied to the terminal building. It appears the plan was that the cocaine would be picked up later on."
However, around 30 undercover Customs officers stormed the aircraft and arrested five crew members and an airport worker; four Britons, a Nigerian and a Serb.
The plane, which was impounded, was found to have no other cargo. The men were taken to central London and were being questioned at an undisclosed location last night.
The six suitcases each containing about 200lbs of cocaine were so big and heavy that they needed three officers to carry each one. It is believed the suitcases were to be collected later.
Officers believe that cocaine was smuggled to the Caribbean from South America. The aircraft took off from Jamaica on Sunday night and stopped at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands before heading for Southend.
Knowing CB-J's propensity for wriggling out of things - and for screwing other people - it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was him that tipped off customs in exchange for the usual reward, what is it - 10% of the value of the seizure? It would be rather a lot more than he might have got for transporting it!
None but a blockhead
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Surely the thing to do is tell everyone that you're flying to somewhere up country, then declare a fake problem and divert to an alternate close at hand when you enter UK airspace. While C&E are still waiting for you at Aberdeen or wherever, dump contraband and vanish into night. You'll need a friend airside, but apart from that no-one need know your true intention.
Honestly... have these people no imagination? It's not called dope for nothing, I guess.
A Friend Of A Friend used to pay for his flying, electronics hobby and drug habit by pootling over to Holland in the club's Centurion, picking up a few kilos of goodies, slapping a radio beacon on them and throwing them overboard when he came home over Epping Forest. He'd pop back on his bike the next day and track the packages down. Eventually he got sloppy, spotted and nicked, in that order... but I'd be surprised if multiple similar scams aren't going on all the time.
R
Honestly... have these people no imagination? It's not called dope for nothing, I guess.
A Friend Of A Friend used to pay for his flying, electronics hobby and drug habit by pootling over to Holland in the club's Centurion, picking up a few kilos of goodies, slapping a radio beacon on them and throwing them overboard when he came home over Epping Forest. He'd pop back on his bike the next day and track the packages down. Eventually he got sloppy, spotted and nicked, in that order... but I'd be surprised if multiple similar scams aren't going on all the time.
R
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That's strange, I can't see the words Phoenix Aviation at all!
Link removed because of post below
Added after Capt P's edit - keen to stay within the law. Although this opens the debate whether documents easily available through Internet are "in the public domain", guess I don't want to be the one to test this!
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: Capt PPRuNe ]
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: newswatcher ]
Link removed because of post below
Added after Capt P's edit - keen to stay within the law. Although this opens the debate whether documents easily available through Internet are "in the public domain", guess I don't want to be the one to test this!
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: Capt PPRuNe ]
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: newswatcher ]
Chief PPRuNe Pilot
Be warned, if anyone has been charged you will not be allowed to discuss any past convictions or charges as the case becomes sub-judice. Be very careful otherwise you may be breaking the law. Your link may be a criminal offence newswatcher.
Whilst the names and addresses are now in the public domain they can be reported but be very careful of prejudicing any case by reporting previous convictions until after the current case. Three of the men charged are British. They are Christopher Barrett-Jolly, 54, from Wellington, Somerset, Peter Carine, 49, from Hensall, North Yorkshire and Martin John Lake, 60, from Storrington, West Sussex. The fourth man charged is Nigerian, David Ogundipe, 45, from Lagos.
If anyone is subsequently convicted or after the case ends you may bring up any previous history and discuss. Any legal types out there care to put a more professional opinion on what I have said?
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: Capt PPRuNe ]
Whilst the names and addresses are now in the public domain they can be reported but be very careful of prejudicing any case by reporting previous convictions until after the current case. Three of the men charged are British. They are Christopher Barrett-Jolly, 54, from Wellington, Somerset, Peter Carine, 49, from Hensall, North Yorkshire and Martin John Lake, 60, from Storrington, West Sussex. The fourth man charged is Nigerian, David Ogundipe, 45, from Lagos.
If anyone is subsequently convicted or after the case ends you may bring up any previous history and discuss. Any legal types out there care to put a more professional opinion on what I have said?
[ 18 October 2001: Message edited by: Capt PPRuNe ]
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I'm glad to see that we're all such happy, knowledgeable, law abiding citizens. I've only got one question....if this CBJ is THAT notorious, why has it taken so long for him to be caught? Is it because those of us in the know are being 'derelict' in our duty, and not notifying those at HMCE of our suspicions? I wonder.....
Chucking contraband on an isolated taxiway in the dark or dropping it in the woods on the way in is a pretty good smuggling technique. The hard part is finding the self-control to stop picking up the easy money (the most addictive of all substances); so, many end up doing it again and again until nicked. Do it enough times and word will eventually get out and the authorities will be waiting. And if some shady character suggests such a money making opportunity, it may be because they are unsure whether the pilot (fall guy) will be nicked next time around.
Fortunately, the vast majority of light ac pilots are decent, honest folk. Because the freedom of movement within Europe, lax laws concerning the drug menace in certain countries and the number of cross-channel flights at weekends means that the unscrupulous might think that it's easy to smuggle illegal substances into the UK in order to make easy money.
But don't forget that Customs and Excise and the Police are not stupid. There is a very good chance that they know exactly who is going where and if a suspicious pattern develops, a few discreet investigations are made; if suspicions are confirmed then a trap is set and 'chummy' is usually caught 'bang to rights' and ends up being detained at HM pleasure. You'd be surprised at the interest taken by C&E - I was ask to pass details of a certain flight from my Club by one of the members as it had aroused suspicion; fortunately we were able to show that there had been a genuine misunderstanding (pilot had announced that he was going to aerodrome X and had set off in a totally different direction; in fact the pilot was going to a totally different and rarely used strip with a very similar sounding name) and we were thanked for our help. Obviously Officialdom had been monitoring local ATC frequencies and was doing a bit of investigating.........a few months later a massive drug seizure took place at a nearby aerodrome as tens of thousands of pounds worth of this filth were taken out of circulation.
So don't think, if you're tempted, that you'll get away with it. Good luck to the folks at Customs and Excise and the Police; most of the scum involved in the drug trade are greedy and will very soon get careless - just before they get caught and subsequently enjoy picking up the soap in a communal prison shower for a few years....
But don't forget that Customs and Excise and the Police are not stupid. There is a very good chance that they know exactly who is going where and if a suspicious pattern develops, a few discreet investigations are made; if suspicions are confirmed then a trap is set and 'chummy' is usually caught 'bang to rights' and ends up being detained at HM pleasure. You'd be surprised at the interest taken by C&E - I was ask to pass details of a certain flight from my Club by one of the members as it had aroused suspicion; fortunately we were able to show that there had been a genuine misunderstanding (pilot had announced that he was going to aerodrome X and had set off in a totally different direction; in fact the pilot was going to a totally different and rarely used strip with a very similar sounding name) and we were thanked for our help. Obviously Officialdom had been monitoring local ATC frequencies and was doing a bit of investigating.........a few months later a massive drug seizure took place at a nearby aerodrome as tens of thousands of pounds worth of this filth were taken out of circulation.
So don't think, if you're tempted, that you'll get away with it. Good luck to the folks at Customs and Excise and the Police; most of the scum involved in the drug trade are greedy and will very soon get careless - just before they get caught and subsequently enjoy picking up the soap in a communal prison shower for a few years....
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I think its already been said here on PPRuNe, but the latest news coming out of Afghanistan is that OBL has been mixing a soupcon of Anthrax in with the Heroin, Brown, "H", Smack, Scag, Scat, China white, Junk, Powder, Horse, etc......
Nb. Afghanistan is a major producer of the stuff, i.e. it's practically their only major export (after terrorism).
So, if true, all you drugies had better enjoy that next fix / dragon-chase, as it might very well be one of your last - and I have to say that there certainly seems to be a poetic justice about it !
Nb. Afghanistan is a major producer of the stuff, i.e. it's practically their only major export (after terrorism).
So, if true, all you drugies had better enjoy that next fix / dragon-chase, as it might very well be one of your last - and I have to say that there certainly seems to be a poetic justice about it !