Susan Clairmont: Hamilton crew member among those detained after drugs found on plane in Dominican
A Hamilton man acquitted in a notorious domestic violence case which sent his brother to prison, is jailed in the Dominican Republic after 210 kilograms of cocaine was found on the airplane he crewed.
Aatif Safdar was arrested in a major international drug bust April 5 when a Pivot Airline jet was searched by drug control agents at the Punta Cana International Airport before it could depart on a private flight for Toronto.
Safdar, a licensed pilot, is one of five crew members arrested.
A statement sent to The Spectator by Pivot, based at Pearson Airport, says it was the crew who discovered the cache and contacted authorities.
Aatif's brother Adeel Safdar, a now disgraced scientist once held up as a superstar by McMaster University, is serving a four year prison sentence for breaking his former wife's jaw in two places and permanently disfiguring her ear.
In the longest domestic violence trial in Hamilton history, court heard how Dr. Sara Salim, a medical doctor, was wed to Adeel in an arranged marriage. She moved in with him and his extended family - including Aatif - in Hamilton and allegedly endured psychological and physical abuse and torture.
The brothers and their mother were charged and their defence at trial was that Sara was mentally ill and inflicted her injuries on herself.
While Adeel was found guilty of aggravated assault. Aatif was found not guilty of assault bodily harm, assault with a weapon, assault and threatening death. Their mother, Shaheen Safdar, faced the same charges at Aatif and was also found not guilty on all counts.
Aatif's wife, Sehrish Hassan, provided unexpected drama in the trial when she was caught lying on the witness stand. She was a law school graduate at the time, but was fired from a local firm after her stunt.
Defence lawyers Dean Paquette and Nader Hasan represented the Safdars in the domestic violence case. Paquette did not know of Aatif's new legal troubles until contacted by The Spectator. Emails, phone calls and texts to Hasan have gone unanswered.
Aatif worked part-time at the Brampton Flight Centre before COVID. His profile photo on LinkedIn shows him in a cockpit, wearing an airline uniform and he identifies himself as a pilot at Pivot Airlines, which specializes in chartered flights. He also lists himself as a life coach. His profile says he lives in Hannon, Ont., which is the location of his home on the east Mountain.
Aatif also said on LinkedIn that his dynamic air operations team" provides services to the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Health, the Coast Guard, RCMP and Department of National Defence.
His last post was on the day of the drug seizure. It said Masha'Allah, a true character of resilience!" in reference to Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan. The post came just days before Khan lost a no-confidence vote and was ousted from power.
Shaheen Safdar and her husband were from Pakistan. She and her sons became Canadian citizens after moving here from Saudi Arabia.
Reports say 11 people on the Pivot flight are detained for questioning. It appears most, if not all, are Canadian, including: Syed Aatif Safdar, Sheldon Gaspard Poirier, Younane Hadare, Briscoe Kash Everett, Aldayeh Ranya, Leblond Francheska, Mckenna Liam Patrick, Di-Venanzo Robert Lee, Dubey Bal Krishna, Carello Christina, Wojcik-Harrison Brittney Lynn and Alexander Rozov.
Media reports from Dominican Republic citing the National Directorate for Drug Control as the source, say authorities searched the plane and found eight black bags filled with hundreds of bricks of cocaine hidden in compartments within the twin-engine jet.
Pivot says the crew discovered suspected contraband in the compartment of the aircraft during the course of their normal duties."
In keeping with our policies and procedures, as well as local and international laws and regulations, the crew immediately reported the discovery to local authorities. In addition, our Canadian dispatch office immediately contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to report the incident and seek procedural advice in parallel with local authorities."
The Spectator reached out to the RCMP last week. The only response from the media relations office in Ottawa is that it received The Spec's request for information.
The RCMP's media desk for Ontario responded by saying: The RCMP generally does not confirm or deny if an investigation is underway unless criminal charges are laid. We therefore cannot provide further information on this matter."
Pivot says our primary concern is our crew's safety, security, ethical and humane treatment as we seek to ensure their safe return to Canada."
It says the airline, along with the three national unions representing the crew members and the Canadian embassy in Dominican Republic are co-operating with authorities that are investigating.
Pivot says it has retained lawyers in the Dominican Republic and Canada to represent its crew.
On Monday, Pivot told The Spectator those detained in the Caribbean country in unsafe conditions" include all five crew members who reported the discovery of the drugs to authorities. The airline says the crew members are being held in two jails - men's and women's and the circumstances for our crew in these facilities is dangerous and highly volatile."
Our male crew members in particular have been held in communal cells with individuals accused of involvement in drug related crimes," Pivot says. They do not speak the language, have been identified as reporting the contraband to authorities and fear for their safety."
The airline also said in an email that by immediately reporting suspected contraband, the crew likely prevented an air disaster, fire and controllability issues that would have likely occurred if the contraband remained on board."
It explained the unaccounted weight" of 210 kilograms of drugs in that aircraft poses an extreme risk to safety ... given the fuel load."
Additionally, the contraband was located in a maintenance compartment containing several critical electrical systems and packaged in flammable bags," the company says.
Pivot says lawyers have advised the company the investigation by Dominican authorities could take more than a year.
It is unclear why Pivot believes its crew will be detained for a year-long investigation. Attempts to have that explained went unanswered.
Punta Cana media reports the remainder of the detainees are passengers and that none of those detained are from the Dominican Republic.
Pivot describes itself as being committed to the highest operating and business standards" and says during the pandemic it has conducted over 200 essential service flights providing critical public health and public safety flights to various government agencies and critical supply chain providers."
The airline has previously delayed plans to offer flights out of Waterloo Region to Ottawa and Montreal.
The street value of 210 kilos of cocaine in Canada will vary, depending on its purity. But a case in Windsor in February, in which a Quebec truck driver was arrested with 80 kilograms of cocaine, put its value at $8.8 million.
At that price, the Pivot stash would be worth more than $23 million.
Susan Clairmont is a justice columnist at The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com