By Kemo Cham
For a fine of just USD100,000, four men held for landing a suspicious aircraft at Sierra Leone’s Freetown International Airport (FNA) have walked free.
The men – three Mexicans and a Spanish passport holder – were detained in late September this year after landing the unscheduled 14-seater aircraft they claimed had originated from neighboring Liberia. Preliminary investigations at the time revealed they didn’t take off from any recognized airport, according to the Sierra Leone government.
They had no landing permit and didn’t contact air traffic controllers before landing. To make matters worse, they were flying under a fake registration, with the document partly scratched in an apparent attempt to alter the information, a statement issued by the Ministry of Information revealed.
The men also lied to state officials about their radio malfunctioning.
Following detailed investigation, another statement issued on Tuesday, October 15 revealed no change about the findings of the initial investigations.
The police, it said, found nothing of interest on the aircraft, leading the public prosecutor to recommend civil charges for violation of relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Act.
The charges the suspects were slammed with included serving an aircraft without certificate, operating an aircraft in the country without a certificate and flying an aircraft over the country’s territory without authorisation.
According to the statement, the men and their aircraft had already been released by the time the public was informed.
Two Sierra Leoneans working with the airport traffic control system were detained as part of the investigation. Both were also freed for lack of sufficient evidence to press charges against them.
The incident came as Sierra Leone struggles to improve its image about airport safety, which officials have admitted had contributed to high cost of air ticket, making the country one of the most expensive destinations to travel to by air.
Some Sierra Leoneans suggested the government called in help from competent investigative entities, like the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States. The concerns stemmed from the possibility that the suspects could be tied to international drug cartels.
Critics say the involvement of citizens of Mexico, a country known for its connection to the global drug trade, and the lack of transparency from the authorities in the investigations is to blame for speculations that there may be more to this incident than the public has been told.
But the government said the investigation was a joint one involving the SLCAA, security forces and the Office of National Security.
Nonetheless, the statement announcing conclusion of the matter has left more questions than answers in its wake.
For example, why did the suspects lie about the origin of the aircraft?
The flight captain was quoted claiming he was paid USD20, 000 to make the trip. Who paid him?
