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
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
BREAKING Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
A look back on Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season: Preparing for potential challenges in 2024
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.
Person charged in random assault on actor Steve Buscemi in New York
A person wanted in connection with the random assault on actor Steve Buscemi on a New York City street earlier this month was taken into custody Friday, police said.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Local Spotlight
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.