World | Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:18pm EST

Dominican Republic seeks arrest of Euro MP for cocaine convicts' speedboat escape

SANTO DOMINGO

The Dominican Republic issued arrest warrants on Monday against a member of the European Parliament and two other French nationals for helping a pair of French pilots convicted on cocaine trafficking charges flee the Caribbean nation by speedboat.

Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said warrants for people smuggling were issued against Euro MP Aymeric Chauprade, as well as Christophe Naudin and Pierre Malinowski, after the men admitted in the media their role in the escape of the pilots.

In an interview with Paris Match last month, Chauprade said he planned the escape to help "compatriots in danger." Malinowski is an assistant of France's veteran far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen at the European Parliament.

The pilots, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, were under loose house arrest at the time of the escape. They had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for possession of 1,500 pounds (700 kilos) of cocaine with intent to traffic it aboard an aircraft seized in Punta Cana International Airport in March 2013.

They denied the charges and were given some freedom of movement during an appeal against the conviction.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]