This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
On September 20, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents at Florida's Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport made a significant discovery in the nose compartment of an airplane piloted by Venezuelans Jean Carlos Sanchez Rojas and Victor Fossi Grieco.
According to a criminal complaint filed in US district court on September 23, 2019, CBP officers observed loose rivets on the nose compartment, leading them to investigate further.
Inside the compartment, the officers found numerous bars of gold hidden under a solid metal covering, weighing approximately 230 pounds and valued at around $5 million.
Sanchez Rojas, 42, claimed that he obtained the gold from multiple sources in Venezuela with the intention of selling it in the US. He also admitted to knowing that the organization had smuggled gold into the US before and that he would receive a fee for his involvement.
Fossi Grieco, the 51-year-old pilot, stated that he met people in Venezuela to pick up the gold and stored it in the plane's nose for two days before the flight. He also acknowledged that he would receive a commission once he delivered the gold, but failed to report it in his customs declaration.
This incident is not an isolated case. On August 1, 2019, a significant amount of gold bars were seized from a private airplane coming from Venezuela at the Princess Juliana Airport on the Dutch Caribbean possession of Sint Maarten.
