Ottawa “very concerned” for five Canadians held in the Dominican Republic

The Canadian government is "

" about the fate of five Canadian crew members, held in the Dominican Republic since early April after the discovery of drugs on their plane, the Minister of Transport said in an interview published Saturday by CBC News.

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These five Canadians - two pilots, two flight attendants and a mechanic - were preparing to leave the Dominican seaside resort of Punta Cana for the Canadian metropolis of Toronto, when while carrying out an inspection of the plane on April 5, they discovered a suspicious bag hidden in the belly of the aircraft, according to the airline company Pivot Airlines which employs them.

“

” said Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in an interview published Saturday by public television CBC News.

“

," he said.

After discovering the suspicious bag, then several others, the crew alerted the Dominican police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, federal police).

Finally, the Dominican authorities announced the discovery of 200 kg of cocaine and immediately imprisoned, for nine days, the Canadians who denounced their conditions of detention.

The crew has since been released, with a ban on leaving the Caribbean territory, while the investigation continues, which could last almost a year, according to CBC News, who also spoke to the one of the Canadian pilots, Robert Di Venanzo.

The latter also said that since their release from prison, the Canadians have not had any charges filed against them and that they have not had a new interview with the investigators.

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According to CBC News, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the subject with Dominican President Luis Abinader at the Summit of the Americas held last week in Los Angeles.