'SpaceX' cocaine: Australian pilot dies in plane crash; cops find 200kg of drugs

Approximately 200 kg of cocaine was found wrapped in fake SpaceX packaging after a plane crashed in remote Brazil. The pilot, an Australian, was discovered dead outside the aircraft after it went down in Coruripe, a coastal area along Brazil’s tropical shoreline.

The pilot, identified as Timothy J. Clark , was the sole occupant of the aircraft. He was found dead outside the wreckage, according to local outlet G1 Globo.

The crash occurred around 1.30 pm in the Alagoas region, a remote tropical area of Brazil’s coastline, with police confirming Clark died at the scene. The crashed plane was registered in Zambia but reportedly operated in Brazil for at least two years

Federal police did not disclose the aircraft’s point of departure or intended destination but noted the presence of extra fuel tanks, suggesting it was equipped for a long-range flight, reported the Daily Mail.

“The investigation will continue to deepen the facts and identify the owner of the illicit material, through the opening of a police inquiry,” the federal police was quoted as saying by local media.

Local law enforcement valued the haul at around nine million Brazilian reais (approximately $16 million), and the drugs were transferred to the Integrated Public Security Centre in Coruripe, according to local media.

The aircraft is suspected to have used Alagoas as a stopover along an international drug trafficking route, as cited by Em Tempo Noticias. Investigators are also examining whether the pilot had prior knowledge of Brazil’s air routes.

While Brazil produces little cocaine itself, Colombia accounts for about 70 percent of the global supply, with the country playing a pivotal role in international distribution.

A 2016 United Nations report identified Brazil as the most frequently cited departure point for cocaine shipments bound for Africa, Asia, and Europe, second only to Colombia.