Dominican prosecutor seeking to hold Canadian aircrew in jail for up to 12 months: unions

A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is seeking to hold a Canadian aircrew in jail for up to 12 months after more than 200 kg cocaine was found last month onboard an aircraft they were operating, the unions representing the workers say. The Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and Unifor released a statement Monday calling on the Canadian government “to secure the safe return of five Canadians who have been arbitrarily imprisoned in the Dominican Republic after reporting a crime they were not involved in.” The unions said that for more than 40 days, the Pivot Airlines crew members “have been arbitrarily detained, threatened, and prosecuted after discovering and reporting 200kg of narcotics to the police.” The unions have launched a campaign aimed at petitioning the Canadian government to secure the “immediate return” of the crew. Unifor has identified their member involved in the incident as Bal Krishna Dubey, a part-time electrical mechanic at Pivot Airlines. CUPE has identified their members as Christina Carello and Alexander Rozov, both Pivot Airlines flight attendants. In a letter previously sent to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Pivot Airlines CEO Eric Edmondson said that on April 5 while conducting a commercial charter, the crew discovered suspected contraband in a maintenance compartment and “immediately reported” it. “Despite following Transport Canada approved policies and international laws, the crew were immediately detained by local authorities,” the letter said. Story has more. <br/>