The Canadian government is “very concerned” about the fate of five Canadian crew members held in the Dominican Republic since early April after drugs were discovered on their plane, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in an interview published Saturday by CBC News. .

These five Canadians – two pilots, two flight attendants and a mechanic – were leaving the Dominican resort of Punta Cana for Toronto, when during an inspection of the plane on April 4, they discovered a suspicious bag hidden in the device, according to the airline Pivot Airlines, of which they are employed.

“I am very concerned about the well-being of our Canadian crew,” the transport minister said.

“We are going to do everything we can to, first, make sure that they have the right to a proper (judicial) process and that their rights are respected, and then to return home,” he stressed.

After discovering the suspicious bag, and subsequently several others, the crew alerted the Dominican police and the Canadian federal police.

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

They were later released with a ban on leaving the country for the duration of the investigation, which could last a year, according to CBC News, which also interviewed one of the Canadian pilots, Robert Di Venanzo.

The pilot stated that since they were released from prison, there were no accusations against him and they had no meetings with the investigators.

According to public television, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the issue with Dominican President Luis Abinader during the Summit of the Americas last week in Los Angeles.