A strange mystery is unfolding in Brazil, as an Australian pilot has been found dead with $53 million worth of cocaine in his possession. While that sounds like the start of a Netflix true crime documentary on its own, things get even stranger due to the parcels being branded with the logo of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
With the tech billionaire trying to push the human race beyond the Moon to colonize Mars, SpaceX is typically known for being in the news due to the antics of Elon Musk, failed rocket launches, or its rivalry with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
Now, there are questions about how a pilot has been found with a motherlode of cocaine and why it's masquerading as SpaceX merch. 7NEWS reports on the baffling murder, with 46-year-old Timothy J Clark's body being discovered with 200kg of cocaine. Tests confirm the mystery substance as cocaine, which is said to be valued at AUD$80 million – working out at $53 million in the USA.
Either way, it's important to note that SpaceX seemingly has no connection to the crash or its cargo.
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Police in Brazil found the light plane wreckage in a sugarcane field in Coruripe, a municipality on the coast of the Alagoas region. Identification on the body confirmed it was Clark, who'd been flying the plane on what's known as a popular drug route.
Clark was the sole casualty of the crash, with authorities now looking into the cause of the incident and why he was carrying such a massive amount of cocaine. The plane is registered to Zambia, although it's said to have been hangared in Brazil for at least two years.
Local outlet Gazeta states that authorities are looking into whether Clark was involved in the international drug scene.
Notably, one gram of cocaine is said to cost just $5 in Brazil. This makes it around the same local price as a pack of cigarettes, although that same gram could be worth up to $400 in Australia.
Australia is known to have some of the highest cocaine prices in the world, and while little of the drug is made in Brazil, it serves as a major distribution hub for substances made in Colombia. It's said that over 70% of the world's cocaine supply is manufactured in Colombia.
In 2016, the United Nations suggested that Brazil is where most cocaine departs from, heading out of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Due to Brazil's proximity to cocoa nations like Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, borders tend to be poorly monitored or populated.
Brazil is also the second-largest cocaine consumer, coming behind the United States in terms of use. As we previously said, that's because cocaine is so cheap there and is easy to come by.
As for Clark, the Daily Mail claims he comes from Lilydale on the outskirts of Melbourne and was the director and secretary of several investment businesses.
Photos on his social media reportedly show him flying planes and enjoying a glamorous lifestyle.
Still, as no flight details were recorded with authorities, it's unclear where Clark was heading or why the packages of cocaine were branded with SpaceX.