Three Mexican citizens and a Spaniard, arrested last September in Sierra Leone for illegal landing of the plane were released after paying a fine of 100 thousand dollars, Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Information reported this Monday.

“All those arrested in this case are now free. The plane is also no longer in police custody.. The issue is considered closed,” the department said in a statement.

Those released committed crimes such as flying on an airplane without identification, driving an aircraft in Sierra Leone without a flight certificate or fly an airplane over the territory of an African country without permission.

Four people, whose identities have not been disclosed, An investigation was conducted into the unauthorized landing aircraft at Freetown International Airport (FNA), the capital, on September 20.

A fourteen-seater plane landed at the airport, believed to be heading from Liberia to Mexico.

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Since then, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA), security forces and the Office of National Security (ONS, intelligence services) have carried out technical and security investigations.

A preliminary investigation showed that The plane “did not take off from any recognized airfield in Liberia”according to the government of Sierra Leone.

Additionally, the aircraft “was not cleared to land and did not contact FNA air traffic control before landing” and “flew with a false license plate“At the same time, part of the license plate has obviously been erased.”

The crew claimed that there was a radio communication failure before landing, but “technical checks showed that the radio was working“According to the authorities of Sierra Leone.

“The captain of the flight, who stated that he did not speak English, then spoke in English and said that He was paid $20,000 to travel from Liberia to Mexico.“, the Ministry of Information said in a statement.

After a thorough search, the police did not find anything suspicious on the plane. (EFE)