The Netflix docuseries 'Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft." tells the wild true story of two French pilots, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, who were arrested in 2013 after more than 1,500 lbs. of cocaine were found aboard the plane they were flying. The pilots claimed they had no idea that 26 suitcases aboard the jet were packed with the drug, but were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Pilots' Escape

Fauret and Odos pulled off a dramatic escape from the Dominican Republic back to France in 2015, only to be rearrested upon their return. They were later acquitted in 2021 after new testimony suggested they had been unwitting pawns in the scheme.

The True Story of Cocaine Air

The story of Fauret and Odos was revisited in the Netflix docuseries 'Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft.' The filmmakers, Olivier Bouchara and Jérôme Pierrat, are still uncertain about how much the pilots truly knew.

"Sometimes, we'd be shooting a scene and we'd look at each other and think, 'Wait, maybe they knew. Maybe they were in on it,' " Bouchara told TIME in June 2025. "Other times, we'd come across a detail that made us doubt everything again. And that's part of what we wanted to share: not a verdict, but a conversation."

Who are Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos?

Fauret and Odos are former members of the French military who were flying a private jet chartered by a rental company in southeast France called SN-THS. They were transporting nuclear weapons before switching to corporate charters.

What happened to Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos?

On March 20, 2013, Dominican officials discovered more than 1,500 lbs. of cocaine hidden among 26 suitcases aboard a private aircraft that Fauret and Odos had piloted to the Punta Cana Airport. They were sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Fauret and Odos denied having any knowledge that drugs were aboard their plane. "They tell me the date, and I fly," Fauret said in the docuseries. "I never know the purpose of the trip."

Who were the other suspects in Cocaine Air?

In addition to Fauret and Odos, crew member Alain Castany and passenger Nicolas Pisapia were also implicated in the case, along with around 20 Dominican customs and police officers and former bodyguard and alleged drug trafficking kingpin Frank Colin.

How did Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos escape?

Fauret and Odos were released from prison in 2015 while awaiting an appeal ruling for the 20-year sentence. Though barred from leaving the Dominican Republic, they flew back to France allegedly with the help of a French politician, former naval officers and former intelligence agents who were all "friends" from their time in the service.

Fauret said during a press conference after the escape, "We're dealing with a judicial system ... that condemned us to 20 years for the sole reason we were French."

Why were Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos acquitted?

Upon their arrival in France, Fauret and Odos were rearrested in November 2015. In 2019, a French court sentenced them to six years in prison for their alleged involvement.

Two years after their sentencing, Fauret and Odos were acquitted after an unnamed figure in the case told investigators that the pilots had been "conned."

Fauret and Odos were interviewed for Cocaine Air. They haven't flown a plane since 2013, they told the docuseries.