The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN officials are in talks with the Haitian government over the return of a Pineapple Air plane reportedly stolen from the nation’s airport and flown to Haiti last May.

The 19-seater aircraft disappeared from the domestic terminal of the Lynden Pindling International Airport around 6am on May 24 and three Bahamian men are currently in Haitian police custody in connection with the incident, as is the plane.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said the government has been in contact with the three men and he has already spoken to Haitian officials in an attempt to negotiate the release of the plane.

“There’s a plane which is owned by Pineapple Air, which was reported stolen (and) there are three of our citizens who are under arrest in Cap-Haitien in connection with the theft of the plane, but they won’t release the plane,” Mr Mitchell said.

“We’ve been working to try and get this plane released. As soon as I get back to the office, I’m back on that again because this has really crippled the operator, his ability to function here.”

Police were tight-lipped following the incident and Pineapple Air owner Kenneth Carey told The Tribune last June that details surrounding the plane’s disappearance were scarce, even for him.

“The only thing I know so far is the plane departed without a flight plan and was discovered in Haiti,” he said.

He also responded to reports of the plane being stolen for drug or human trafficking purposes. At the time, Mr Carey seemed unsure, but said: “I don’t know – there was nothing really found on the plane.”

Yesterday, Mr Mitchell said something similar: “I don’t know what it was used for or what it was suspected to have been used for but the owner reported it stolen and has been trying to recover his property.”

The three Bahamians, he said, are “still in jail awaiting the charges. They haven’t appeared in court.”

“They’ve gotten consular assistance, but the charges have not actually been formally put. They are in prison awaiting a decision of the authorities there on what the charges are going to be.”

He added: “Any Bahamian citizen who’s arrested abroad where there’s a diplomatic or consular presence, Bahamian diplomats if requested by the Bahamian citizen will go and see you in jail and say: ‘Do you need help, do you need assistance?’ So we’ve done that and they may need help with the notification of their families.

“We don’t supply lawyers, that’s up to the families to do so. But our responsibility is to make sure that you are within the laws of the country, are not suffering any inhume treatment, that you are subject to due process and that your family’s notified – and that has been done and they continue to monitor the forward movement of the prosecution.”