Picture: Netflix
In the long tradition of true crime docuseries, Netflix France has announced the release of a new docuseries dedicated to the Air Cocaine case, which made national headlines back in 2013. Here’s what you need to know about the documentary.
On March 20, 2013, four French nationals were arrested on board a private jet at the Punta Cana airport, Dominican Republic: two ex-air force pilots and two passengers about to take off for Saint-Tropez. On board: 700 kg of cocaine stored in 26 suitcases. None of them has the profile of an international drug smuggler, and no one knows who the luggage belongs to. Who isn’t telling the whole truth? Who’s involved in the case? And what is hiding behind the mountain of drugs?
First announced last March at Séries Mania, the docuseries (episode count unavailable) is scheduled to be released globally on Netflix on June 11th. The show is one of two current documentary projects around French cocaine drug rings, the other one being around the dockers in Le Havre under pressure from international drug cartels, and entitled Cocaine Cargo. Speaking with Vanity Fair last March, head of documentaries for France Dolorès Emile added that “we could not pass on the project. All the ingredients for a great story were there from the beginning: four French citizens arrested in the Dominican Republic, on a plane owned by [French eyewear businessman] Alain Afflelou, an unbelievable escape plot, the reveal that [former French president] used to fly aboard this exact same plane…”
The first look will focus on several key witnesses on the case, and more importantly adopt the point of view of the pilots involved in the case.”In this case, many people have been heard and arrested, except the actual culprits, and that’s the story we have decided to tell”, added Dolorès Emile. The documentary also interviews the former lawyer for the two pilots, who would go on to be appointed French Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti. Below are a few more first looks for the project.
Lawyer for the defense of the pilots Éric Dupond-Moretti. (Cr : Premières Lignes/Netflix)
French private aircraft pilot Bruno Odos, one of the main actors in the case. (Cr : Premières Lignes/Netflix)
June will be a busy month for new documentary arrivals on Netflix, with Titan: The OceanGate Disaster dropping on June 6th, alongside Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Ft. Additionally, three episodes of Trainwreck are scheduled to drop throughout the month. You can find the complete list of what’s coming up on Netflix throughout June 2025 here.
