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The Air Cocaine case remains one of the most complex drug trafficking scandals involving French nationals abroad. In March 2013, authorities in the Dominican Republic intercepted a private Falcon 50 jet preparing to depart Punta Cana for Saint-Tropez, discovering 26 suitcases packed with nearly 700 kilograms of cocaine onboard.
The aircraft carried four French citizens, including former military pilots Bruno Odos and Pascal Fauret. As per the AeroTime report dated July 9, 2021, the pilots were initially sentenced to 20 years by a Dominican court, but later managed to escape by sea and return to France.
Their dramatic journey and prolonged legal battle are the subject of the Netflix docuseries Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft, which reexamines evidence, communication records, and the political tensions surrounding the case. According to a France 24 report dated November 3, 2015, investigators even accessed former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s phone logs during the inquiry.
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Although Bruno Odos and Pascal Fauret were acquitted in 2021, Air Cocaine remains unresolved in the Dominican Republic, where the charges are still active.
5 key details about the Air Cocaine drug trafficking case explored
The Air Cocaine investigation has remained a high-profile case involving former French military pilots and an international drug trafficking network. Now, the focus of the Netflix docuseries Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft., the case is being reexamined through interviews and legal records. Below are five key details that define the Air Cocaine case and its long legal journey.
1) 700 kg of cocaine found aboard a private jet
On March 19, 2013, Dominican authorities intercepted a Falcon 50 jet in Punta Cana, destined for Saint-Tropez. The plane carried Bruno Odos, Pascal Fauret, and two passengers.
A search revealed 26 suitcases filled with nearly 700 kilograms of cocaine. According to a BBC News report dated April 6, 2019, Dominican courts sentenced the four to 20 years in prison after holding them responsible for the cargo found onboard.
2) Dramatic escape and return to France
In 2015, while under house arrest, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos escaped the Dominican Republic with help from allies, including Christophe Naudin.
As per the French Daily News report dated June 7, 2021, the exfiltration operation, codenamed “Dinner in Paris”, used a sailboat to transfer the pilots to Saint Martin before flying them back to France. France denied official involvement in the operation.
3) French prosecution and eventual acquittal
After returning to France, the pilots were arrested and faced trial. The two were sentenced to six years in prison after a French court convicted them of drug smuggling in 2019.
However, on appeal in July 2021, the Aix-en-Provence court overturned the convictions. According to the AeroTime report dated July 9, 2021, the court dismissed charges after a convicted intermediary admitted the pilots had been “scammed.”
4) Investigation extended to public figures
The Air Cocaine probe reached political levels when French investigators examined phone records of Nicolas Sarkozy. As per a France 24 report dated November 3, 2015, Sarkozy stated,
“What do they think I did - fly to Punta Cana with 700 kg of cocaine? All this would be just laughable if it wasn’t about a violation of legal principles that all French people support.”
His name was later cleared, but the incident added a layer of political complexity to the Air Cocaine case.
5) Questions about pilot responsibility remain
The series Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft co-director, Olivier Bouchara, told Time in a report dated June 11, 2025,
“Sometimes, we’d be shooting a scene and we’d look at each other and think, ‘Wait, maybe they knew’”
In Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft., the central debate is whether Bruno Odos and Pascal Fauret should have known about the suitcases. Their legal team compared them to taxi drivers, stating they were not obligated to inspect luggage.
Stay tuned for more updates.
