How avocados became 'green gold' to Mexican drug cartels, and a deeper dive into the Pivot Airlines saga

A worker selects avocados at a packing plant in Uruapan, Michoacan state, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Armando Solis, File)

W5 is temporarily on hiatus while the NFL playoffs take centre stage on Saturday nights, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t working.

In fact, some of the season’s most compelling investigations are underway and I want to give you a taste of what’s to come because I’m just bursting with excitement over some of these.

First off, reporter Avery Haines and cameraman Jerry Vienneau are beasts. I mean in that in the best of ways.

For some reason, neither of them have a very developed sense of fear. I’m only being slightly flippant. This is a photo that was taken three days ago.

W5's Avery Haines talks to a leader of a Mexican cartel, surrounded by armed guards.

Yes, that’s Avery talking to a Mexican cartel leader. Yes, during the week when the Canadian government said, don’t go to Mexico and if you’re there, shelter in place because of cartel violence.

This particular cartel is known as the most ruthless in all of Mexico, with a penchant for extreme displays of public violence.

W5 cameraman Jerry Vienneau shoots video of heavily armed Mexican cartel soldiers in Michoacan, Mexico.

And yes, that’s Jerry shooting cartel members. I should say, shooting video. Unflinchingly. Beast.

Here’s the twist. This is not a story about drugs. It’s a story about a lesser-known cartel product. A product that many of us probably have ripening on our counters. Avocados. Yes, the 'Green Gold' as it’s called in Cartel Land is a multi-billion dollar industry and you may be shocked to learn what farmers are doing to protect their crops and their families in an industry that Canadians support by buying hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the little green fruit.

The average Canadian consumes 2.5 kgs (almost six pounds) of avocados a year. That’s twice as much as the average European.

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PIVOT AIRLINES

W5 is also continuing its investigation into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic after the crew reported what turned out to be more than 200 kgs of cocaine poorly hidden onboard.

We’re chasing down which Canadians were involved in the doomed smuggling effort. You might be surprised to learn who is not investigating this ongoing story. Your confidential tips have been integral in advancing this story, so please keep them coming.

• W5 exposes the drug connections and money trail in the Pivot Airlines story
• Eagle-eyed flight attendant on how she uncovered key evidence

Another story we’re digging into is how a rather unworldly and trusting grandmother from small town Ontario ended up next to murderers in a Hong Kong federal prison. It seems she was swindled – first out of money and then it got worse.

With the promise of romance, it seems that a sophisticated crime syndicate tricked her into taking a suitcase into Hong Kong. That suitcase contained clothes with large buttons – buttons that were filled with…cocaine. Our story takes us from Barrie, Ont. to Hong Kong, China, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as we track down the men who gave her the drugs and learn what it will take to extract her from a potential life sentence.

And finally, in the journalism world, it’s quite rare to land any in-prison interview – especially in Canada. I’ve personally had one cancelled seconds before it was slated to begin. But a few days ago, Genevieve Beauchemin sat down with a renowned convicted murderer in a Quebec prison.

A man who the court decided killed four people back in the early 1990s. Or did he? Newly-unearthed evidence -- that never made it to trial -- suggests there are some serious concerns that he was wrongly convicted. We’ll lay out the evidence and introduce you to the team who are trying to unmake a murderer.

W5 is back on the air with original episodes on January 28.