Brazilian police discover more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine in 24 suitcases on private jet moments before it took off for Brussels: Spanish passenger and Turkish flight captain arrested
Brazilian agents confiscated more than a ton of cocaine packed in 24 suitcases on a private jet moments before it was set to depart for Belgium.
The Federal Police made the discovery at Fortaleza International Airport in Fortaleza, Ceará, on Wednesday morning.
A Spanish passenger and the flight's 48-year-old Turkish captain were arrested and two crew members – both Turkey nationals – were brought in for questioning.
Footage recorded by the police showed one of the agents confronting the passenger in Portuguese, saying: 'Open that suitcase, I'm telling you.'
A Brazilian agent with the Federal Police tests the purity of a white powdery substance that was cut out out from a package inside a suitcase before confirming it was cocaine. Authorities would seize 1,304 kilos of cocaine that were concealed in 24 suitcases belonging to a passenger from Spain who was arrested on Wednesday at Fortaleza International Airport in Fortaleza, Brazil. The flight captain (second from right) - a Turkish national - was taken into custody, too. The drugs were bound for Brussels, Belgium
Over a ton of cocaine - 1,304 kilos to be exact - were recovered by Brazil's Federal Police at Fortaleza International Airport on Wednesday before a Turkish-owned jet was set to take off for Brussels, Belgium
View of the inside of the Fortaleza International Airport in Ceará, Brazil
The agent then asks the flight captain in English, 'What do you think this is?'
Another officer used a knife to cut through a piece of cloth and drove into a plastic wrapped bundle that revealed the white powdery substance.
The police officer proceeded to examine the substance on the knife, which returned a positive test for the Type-A party drug.
A total of 1,304 kilos of cocaine were found packed into 24 suitcases belonging to the Spanish national, according to Federal Police Chief Alan Robson.
Each suitcase contained 50 plastic bundles of cocaine.
A Spanish passenger opens one of his 24 suitcases that were packed with a total of 1,304 kilos of cocaine
The 1,304 kilos of cocaine were split into 50 bundles that were concealed in 24 suitcases
The plane initially had taken off from Leite Lopes Airport in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, earlier in the day and made a short stop at Fortaleza International Airport to clear customs before continuing on to Brussels.
Authorities were already concerned after the Turkish-owned aircraft had landed earlier in the week at Fortaleza International Airport and headed for Leite Lopes Airport.
The agents boarded the place became alarmed when the passenger claimed that each of the suitcases were his and found inconsistencies to the responses he gave to their questions.
The cops grew even more suspicious of the group when they noticed that the jet's door were immediately being closed as they were leaving the place to talk to the airport personnel. They then decided to make a secondary inspection and discovered the massive shipment.
'They said they went on vacation in Guarulhos, that's when we suspected,' Robson said, according to Brazilian online news outlet G1. 'Then they went to open the bags, we climbed into the aircraft and ordered the engines to be turned off.'
Authorities seized the aircraft as well as cellphones and documents belonging to the passenger and crew members.