Reports have emerged (in 2008!) that Al-Qaeda (Africa) in conjunction with FARC (Latin America) have been using a fleet of rogue aircraft (as large as Boeing 727s) to transport drugs from Latin America to Africa, then filter them up to Europe. This is obviously the path of least resistance, why risk sneaking on a drug-mule when you can just fill up your own plane?
Are these just criminals or is the revenue actively supporting terrorist groups? Also how long before one of these planes is used as a weapon? No need to reach the USA, significant damage could be done by aiming for an oil tanker sitting in the Gulf and other such systems disruption. More needs to be done to investigate this development before it becomes the next black swan.
Just follow the links to the clips below for the full article.
Peace
The document warned that a growing fleet of rogue jet aircraft was regularly crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean. On one end of the air route, it said, are cocaine-producing areas in the Andes controlled by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. On the other are some of West Africa’s most unstable countries.
The clandestine fleet has grown to include twin-engine turboprops, executive jets and retired Boeing 727s that are flying multi-ton loads of cocaine and possibly weapons to an area in Africa where factions of al-Qaida are believed to be facilitating the smuggling of drugs to Europe
“The bad guys have responded with their own aviation network that is out there everyday flying loads and moving contraband,”
militant organizations – including groups like the FARC and al-Qaida – have the “power to move people and material and contraband anywhere around the world with a couple of fuel stops.”
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