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French tycoon’s jet found packed with cocaine

A French bound jet seized in the Dominican Republic with almost 700 kg of cocaine on board belonged to renowned businessman Alain Afflelou, it has been revealed. The owner of an opticians empire was said to be “amazed” at the news.

Published: 25 March 2013 18:41 CET

French tycoon's jet found packed with cocaine

Alain Afflelou, pictured in Paris on September 20th, 2012. Photo: Eric Piermont/AFP

Dominican customs officials found 680 kg of cocaine in 26 suitcases aboard the private Falcon jet owned by Afflelou.

"Alain heard the news last night, through the media, and he's amazed,” said his spokeswoman on Sunday.

The famed owner of an international chain of opticians bearing his name, had loaned the aircraft to the Lyon-based Transhelicopter Services company.

On March 22nd, four French nationals – as well as several local police officers and customs officers – were arrested in the Dominican Republic on suspicion of being part of a drug-trafficking network about to transport the cocaine to Versailles, close to Paris.

A lawyer for Afflelou claimed he would “take the necessary steps to establish what happened”, and that a letter “demanding an explanation” had been sent to the French leasing company, according to regional daily Ouest-France.

Afflelou caused controversy in France in December when he condemned the French government for engaging in a “trench warfare” against entrepreneurs and others “trying to succeed”.

Announcing that he was moving to Britain, Afflelou seemed to suggest France’s “unjust and confiscatory tax system” was leading the country down a path towards the bloody, anti-business recriminations of the 1789 Revolution.

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Man jailed after dismembered body found under Paris bridge

The dismembered body was found on Saturday evening under the Pont d’Austerlitz by firefighters who had come to put out a rubbish fire. The suspect turned himself in the following morning.

The man, born in 1989, had reportedly said the victim was a disabled person for whom he was a carer and with whom he had had a dispute.

The suspect, who the Paris public prosecutor’s office said had incriminated himself and had been questioned in police custody, appeared before an investigating judge on Tuesday.

He was charged with voluntary manslaughter of a vulnerable person, punishable by life imprisonment, and causing bodily harm. He was then remanded in custody, said the public prosecutor.

The suspect’s lawyer, Emanuel de Dinechin, told AFP that “it is not yet possible to determine the exact circumstances of the crime at this stage.”

“It will be up to the investigators to shed light on the material and psychological elements that came into play when the crime was committed,” he said.

The dismembered body was reportedly found in a suitcase. The place where it was found is frequented by homeless people.

French daily Le Parisien said the pair met a few months ago, and the suspect began to look after a quadriplegic, who was in his 50s. At first, things went well, but an altercation between the two turned tragic, the newspaper said.

For nearly two months, the carer kept the corpse under the bed, Le Parisien said.

When the smell became unbearable, he cut up the body with a saw, stuffed the pieces into a suitcase and dropped it off at the foot of the Pont d’Austerlitz before setting it on fire.

According to the newspaper, the body of an “adult male” was missing “upper and lower limbs”.

“The body was complete, but in several pieces,” Le Parisien quoted a source close to the case as saying.

The suspect killed the disabled man with his bare hands and multiple injuries were found on the victim’s body, said Le Parisien.

Last year the dismembered body of a woman was found in the Buttes-Chaumont park in northeast Paris, a popular spot for picnicking families and joggers.

The woman’s husband admitted to killing her and was charged with spousal murder. The couple were married for 26 years and had three children.

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