Air Al Qaeda

A policeman patrols a market in central Timbuktu, on December 28, 2009. The area around Mali's capital has become a stronghold for a franchise of Al Qaeda, and a hub for trafficking cocaine from South America by air, which is then smuggled onto Europe. Tim Gaynor/Reuters/File

Air Al Qaeda: Are Latin America's Drug Cartels Giving Al Qaeda A Lift? -- Christian Science Monitor

There is growing concerns that Al Qaeda in Africa and Latin American drug cartels are working together. Latin American cocaine flights go to Africa, en route to Europe. Are Al Qaeda members on the empty planes back to Latin America?

It's known as the Coca Cola plane. In early November, drug traffickers landed a Boeing 727 in the Malian desert in Gao state and offloaded between 10 and 12 million tons of cocaine. Then, rather than fly it back across the Atlantic to Latin America, they simply burnt it, treating it like a used Coke can.

The terrain of northern Mali is stark desert, and a haven for Islamist insurgents with close ties to Al Qaeda. Initially, investigators thought the plane had crashed in the desert on take off.

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Update: Latin American Cocaine Link To Al Qaeda A ‘Global Threat’ -- Digital Journal

My Comment: I have commented on this before .... it is all about the money. For Al Qaeda .... there is a lot of money in drugs.