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Is the 5.5 Ton Cocaine Bust a legitimate topic of discussion?

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Old and In the Way Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:01 AM
Original message
Poll question: Is the 5.5 Ton Cocaine Bust a legitimate topic of discussion?
Any OP that refers to the fascinating report of a DC-9 flying out of Venice, Florida that was busted in Mexico carrying 5.5 tons of Coke seems to get relegated to the 9/11 forum. I have no idea if this is true, as the only ssource seems to be madcownews.com. But Hopsicker has exposed a lot of information about the 9/11 hi-jackers who trained at the same airport that this plane flew out of. And the operator of this airport does have a history of running drugs. The story has featured a national Republican businessman who owned the plane, the government not releasing the current owner's name, a DC-9 with a US government official looking logo. We are talking about $600MM worth of drugs here.

Why won't the MSM cover it? If true, this is the biggest story of corruption...ever. If not true, why can't we get a major source to debunk it? How can it be debunked if we can't get people seeing the story and asking questions?

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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:04 AM
Response to Original message
1. Hopsicker is a legitimate investigative journalist
His book on the Florida flightschools, Welcome to Terrorland, was a bestseller in Germany. That his work doesn't get the same attention in the States is not the fault of his work's merits.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:06 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Here's another source on the story:
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NYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:08 AM
Response to Reply #3
6. The plane arrived from Venezuela?
I don't remember reading that at Mad Cow News.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:13 AM
Response to Reply #6
8. From the wiki entry on the plane:
N900SA

The DC-9 aircraft with the former tail number N900SA (sn 45775) was involved in drug smuggling and was caught with 5.5 tons of cocaine onboard after landing in Mexico on April 11, 2006. On April 13, 2006, the aircraft was deregistered and sold an unknown customer in Venezuela.

Background

Originally manufactured in 1966 for Trans-World Airlines as N1061T, the aircraft has had a long career flying for various individuals and companies, including Tracinda Investment (N241TC), Kenny Rogers (N9KR), Southmark Corporation (N89SM), the Seattle Seahawks (N40SH), Aircraft 45775, Inc, and HW Aviation.

The DC-9 was traded to SkyWay Communications Holding by duPont Investment Fund 57289, Inc in exchange for 28,000,000 shares of stock <1> in December, 2004, though photographs show the SkyWay logo to have been painted on the aircraft at least eight months before. <2> The FCC records, however, show the aircraft as registered to Royal Sons LLC. SkyWay Communications had previously announced the purchase of another DC-9, tail number N120NE (SN 45731), to act as an "airborne test environment for new SWYC products and services". <3> This aircraft is now listed for sale on the website of United Flite <4>, a company with the same address as several aviation companies, including Royal Sons.


Drug Seizure

The aircraft departed Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela on the afternoon of April 11, 2006. Approximately 1.5 hours into the flight, it reportedly returned to the airport and refueled before resuming its flight to Toluca, Mexico. However, some time into the flight they made an emergency landing at the Ciudad del Carmen airport, claiming hydraulic problems with the landing gear. The flight crew told the ground crew to keep people away from the aircraft, claiming leaking oil could be hazardous and that a tire could explode. The pilot reportedly left the area at this time and was never caught or identified. The Mexican police approached the aircraft with drug-sniffing dogs and the ground crew attempted to keep them away, but to no avail. The dogs identified the presence of drugs and the police entered the aircraft, arresting the co-pilot, Miguel Vicente Vázquez Guerra. An Falcon business jet of Mexican registry (XB-IYK) was reportedly making a rendezvous with the DC-9 and its crew was also arrested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N900SA
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NYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:20 AM
Response to Reply #8
13. Why did the pilot run off?
Did he know they were going to be caught?
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NYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:06 AM
Response to Reply #1
4. Is that the book that he said took so long
to get published?
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:17 AM
Response to Reply #4
10. Unsure. Quite likely, though.
I really wish mods wouldn't be so quick on the conspiracy trigger. Hopsicker is a criminal investigator. He doesn't idly theorize. In fact, he has contempt for people distracting themselves with theories of controlled demolition and such.


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wildbilln864 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:06 AM
Response to Original message
2. It is...
absolutely legitimate! We all should demand investigation!
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:07 AM
Response to Original message
5. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:12 AM
Response to Reply #5
7. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
Bonobo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:18 AM
Response to Reply #7
11. We also used to be able to post questions to admin...
They were once even left open for a while so we could have some back and forth.
First they stopped the back and forth, then they shut down the whole "ask the admins".
Now, I'm pretty sure this will be deleted too. It's sad. The treatment reminds me all too much of other disturbing "top down" management styles that are increasingly visible in this country.

I am a contributer to the site for years now by the way. Does this entitle me to criticise? Yes, I... I think it does, yes. No? Yes?
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NYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:22 AM
Response to Reply #11
15. I had no idea
Ask the Admins was gone. Obviously, I don't use it. What's the procedure now?
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:24 AM
Response to Reply #15
17. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
NYC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:26 AM
Response to Reply #17
19. And if they do answer,
you'll be the only one to know the answer. I would think public answers would cut down on the number of questions.
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Gabi Hayes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:17 AM
Response to Original message
9. don't you know better by now?
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Blue-Jay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:20 AM
Response to Original message
12. The only link is to a blog?
Next you'll be telling me that Rove has been indicted.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:23 AM
Response to Reply #12
16. AP story: Mexico army finds tons of cocaine on plane
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Old and In the Way Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:41 AM
Response to Reply #16
21. Hi Minstrel Boy!
Enjoy reading Rigerous Intuition....always interesting and thought provoking subjects. Quite unique, actually.

Thanks for the link. I googled and couldn't find any mainstream source touching this. It looks like this was reported as another 'typical' drug bust...but AP certainly didn't have the intriguing details that Hopsicker has dug up. And I see no follow-up on this by AP either.

I'm convinced there is a gag on this story. I wonder why?
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:20 AM
Response to Original message
14. What's DU policy? Is CIA complicity in the drug trade now considered
"tinfoil hat stuff," too?

If so, God help us.
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rman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 03:52 AM
Response to Reply #14
25. That would put John Kerry in the tinfoil crowd.
(see the Iran-Contra hearings)

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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
18. I really hated
that the 911 dungeon was created. Admin figured it was necessary, so be it. But what's really annoying is that it's used as a dump for anything deemed a "conspiracy theory", on-topic or otherwise. That just doesn't make sense.
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Bonobo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:30 AM
Response to Reply #18
20. Problem is we cannot organize an appeal to the admins
on the subject because it would also be locked as "calling out the admins". etc. Sigh...

BTW, I do not think there are any sinister motives on the part of the admins. In fact, there are loony conspiracy theories in the "world" of 9/11, just as there are in many other subjects as well. But that is a long way from saying that any discussion of 9/11 is for conspiracy theorists. And I'm afraid that that's what the 9/11 discussion has descended into. It's ridiculous that there is no middle ground between the officially sanctioned story and the more fringe loony theories.
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wildbilln864 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 12:53 AM
Response to Reply #20
22. excellent point
there bonobo!
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Old and In the Way Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 01:08 AM
Response to Reply #20
23. Actually, I'd like to see the post end up there...eventually.
But first, I'd like to see it get greatest page. I really don't know why any forum is shut out of greatest page consideration...if the community deems it important enough to recommend, why should any post not be censured?

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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 01:15 AM
Response to Reply #23
24. If I remember right
embarassment over some 911 (and other "speculative") threads that were noticed outside of DU was one of the reasons the separate forum was created. So I imagine that's probably why threads from 911 can never land on the front page.
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Moderator DU Moderator Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-28-06 06:43 AM
Response to Original message
26. locking
If you have any helpful suggestions
to improve DU, please contact
the Administrators using this link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/contact.html

Please remember that public criticism
of the Administrators or the moderators
is a rule violation.
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