Brazil’s vice president calls Bolsonaro’s pilot ‘qualified drug mule’

Brazil president Bolsanaro’s pilot is a ‘qualified drug mule’ declares vice-president after arrest for carrying 39 kilos of cocaine

  • The pilot was flying President Jair Bolsonaro to the G20 summit in Japan
  • He was arrested by police at a stopover in Spain as they found 39kg of cocaine 
  • Vice President Hamilton Mourao said he was a ‘qualified mule’ on Wednesday 

Brazil’s vice president called Jair Bolsonaro’s pilot a ‘qualified drug mule’ after he was arrested for allegedly smuggling narcotics into Spain yesterday.

The suspect was supporting Bolsonaro’s trip to Japan for this week’s G20 meeting when he was busted with 39 kg (86 lbs) of cocaine, Vice President Hamilton Mourao told journalists in Brasilia. 

‘Obviously, given the quantity of the drug he was carrying, he didn’t buy it on the corner and bring it, right?’ said Mourao. 

Brazil’s Vice President Hamilton Mourao told the media in Brasilia yesterday that the pilot was a ‘qualified drug mule’

‘He was working as a mule. A well qualified mule, so to speak,’ he added. 

Yesterday it was announced that Spanish police had arrested a member of the Brazilian Air Force who carried three bags full of cocaine on a military plane to Seville. 

The incident took place just hours before President Jair Bolsonaro was scheduled to take a stopover there, police and officials said on Wednesday.

A Spanish police source said officers discovered 39 kg (86 lbs) of the drug in three pieces of luggage, which they checked on Tuesday while the plane was waiting to continue its journey to Tokyo. 

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro plane is seen at Osaka airport today. The pilot was flying Bolsonaro to the G20 when he was arrested on a stopover in Spain

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro plane is seen at Osaka airport today. The pilot was flying Bolsonaro to the G20 when he was arrested on a stopover in Spain

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.

The airman had been assigned to remain in Spain and embark on the president’s plane for the final leg of his return trip.

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.’

Bolsonaro (pictured) said he had been informed of Tuesday's arrest by the defense minister

Bolsonaro (pictured) said he had been informed of Tuesday’s arrest by the defense minister

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