The Gulfstream private jet registered as N337LR, which disappeared from radar after it departed Canouan, St. Vincent, on Friday, December 22, 2023, is back in focus as the aircraft surfaced in the West African country of Ghana with cocaine traces, according to reports.
On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines had been in contact with two Latin American countries of relevance on the matter, as well as the relevant authorities in the United States and the regional security system, with certain information.
“Having communicated with all the other authorities, there is no evidence of anything illegal that boarded the aircraft from Canouan.”
Ghanaian newspapers reported that authorities have launched investigations into drug smuggling through the African nation after tracing a Gulfstream aircraft, registered as ‘N337LR’, to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where authorities reported the plane missing since December 22, 2023.
The online news reports shed light on the mystery surrounding the aircraft with tail number N337LR landing at Kotoka International Airport a month ago without appropriate landing permits.
The aircraft is suspected to have been used to shuttle narcotic drugs, and highly-placed individuals in Ghana may be allegedly linked to it.
Reports from preliminary investigations in the West African nation indicate that the aircraft is believed to have come from Guinea-Bissau, a long-established distribution centre for international illicit drug networks.
It is reported that crew members of the aircraft were interrogated by airport officials, and despite having prior knowledge that the aircraft had been reported missing, the crew has since been released and has vanished into thin air, as the latest reports stated.
Reports state that on January 22, 2024, and again before it landed in Ghana, aeronautical radar spotted N337LR after it vanished from Canouan in December 2023.
N337LR departed from Canouan on Friday, December 22, at 2:27 p.m. for a sightseeing expedition. However, just 7 minutes into the flight, it disappeared from radar.
Two individuals and one passenger comprised the flight crew of the N337LR aircraft. At least two individuals who were aboard during its disappearance were of Mexican nationality.
Authorities in SVG in December said they were aware of the identities of the flight crew and the sole passenger, contrary to previous claims. External agencies were conducting background checks, and the preliminary investigation in December indicated that the disappearance of N337LR was not a coincidence.
According to the OGCI (Organised Global Crime Index), while there are no indications to suggest that a heroin trade exists in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the cocaine trade is well established.
“The Grenadine Islands continue to be a stronghold for Venezuelan crime groups, with cocaine shipments from Venezuela to the Grenadines increasing at the expense of shipments to St. Lucia, likely due to groups trying to minimise the risk of interception.”
“For the most part, crime groups organise Venezuelan fishing vessels to offload bulk quantities of cocaine in coastal waters. The drugs are then collected and stockpiled for onward loading onto pleasure crafts that are predominantly destined for Europe.”
