Exclusive surveillance footage shows duffel bags being loaded onto Pivot Airlines jet
Travellers would normally pay top dollar to stay at a beautiful villa at an exclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.
For pilot Rob DiVenanzo, the experience was a nightmare.
He was part of the five-member flight crew that was detained in the country for nearly eight months after they found large duffel bags that were stuffed with cocaine in their plane's avionics bay, and reported them to Dominican authorities and the RCMP.
When W5's Avery Haines caught up with him, he was staying in a villa that doubled as a heavily guarded safe house provided by his employer, Pivot Airlines. He and his fellow crew members were living in constant fear of retribution.
"It's paradise in another lifetime. Not now. I feel like we're trapped in a cage here," DiVenanzo told W5. "I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, worried about my safety. I'm worried about my family's safety back in Canada."
He took W5 minute-by-minute through surveillance video that was captured at Punta Cana International Airport the night before his crew discovered the duffel bags full of drugs.
One of the crew's flight attendants had noticed that the video, which was given to the crew's defence team by the prosecutor as part of the flight crew's long-running court battle, had been tampered with. At one point, the video's timecode can be seen skipping ahead by 43 minutes.
But a second misnamed video that was captured from a different angle was also sent to the Pivot Airlines crew, which showed what happened during those missing 43 minutes: an airport vehicle brings black bags up to the plane, and the bags appear to be loaded inside.
DiVenanzo told W5 that he and his crew don't know when the video was edited, or by whom.
"This was evidence that was provided to our legal team by the prosecutor's office," he told W5. "So we can assume that it was edited sometime between the airport providing it or the drug police or the prosecutor. So somebody within that group edited this, hoping that we wouldn't see what actually happened."
Watch W5's investigation, 'Cocaine Cargo,' on Dec. 10, 2022, at 7 p.m. on CTV
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.
Local Spotlight
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.